CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Casino Advisory Panel: Expenditure

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total expenditure was of the Casino Advisory Panel.

Richard Caborn: When the Casino Advisory Panel submitted its final report to the Secretary of State on 30 January 2007 its total costs were approximately £400,000.

Gambling

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was of the Budd report on gambling.

Richard Caborn: Full details of the total cost are not readily available. However, the cost to DCMS of publication of the report of the Gambling Review Body (the Budd Report) was £12,200, as set out in the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on 10 April 2002,  Official Report, column 332W.

Gambling

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what total costs were associated with the White Paper, A Safe Bet for Success—Modernising Britain's Gambling Laws.

Richard Caborn: Full details of the total cost are not readily available. However, the cost to DCMS of publication of the White Paper was £12,000, as set out in the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on 10 April 2002,  Official Report, column 332W.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent discussions  (a) she and  (b) her Department have had with companies which have bid for the utilities contracts for the Olympic games;
	(2)  when  (a) she and  (b) a Minister in her Department last had a meeting with (i) Thames Water and (ii) EDF energy to discuss the utilities (A) contracts and (B) requirements for the Olympic games.

Richard Caborn: The utilities contracts for the Stratford city and Olympic games sites are being procured under a commercially confidential process by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). To maximise the commercial benefits of negotiation the names of those organisations that have submitted a bid are not widely known within the ODA and have not been released externally.
	I can confirm that no DCMS Minister has held meetings with Thames Water, EDF energy or any of the companies which have bid for the utilities contracts for the Olympic games to discuss contracts and the requirements for the games.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  which bodies will be involved in making the decision on the contractors and companies which are awarded the utilities contracts for the Olympic games;
	(2)  what input the Mayor of London will have into the decision making process for the utilities contracts for the Stratford city and Olympic games site.

Richard Caborn: The utilities contracts for the Stratford city and Olympic games sites are being procured under a commercially confidential process by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
	Tenders are currently being sought and evaluated by the ODA, and in due course their recommendations for award will be considered by the Olympic Projects Review Group (OPRG), which includes representation from the Greater London authority (GLA).
	The OPRG may then make recommendations to Ministers for formal approval to award the contracts.

Sports: Governing Bodies

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she uses to decide which Olympic governing bodies of sport receive funding from her Department.

Richard Caborn: Decisions regarding the criteria for and funding of Olympic governing bodies of sport are made by the Sports Councils, not by Ministers.
	UK Sport is charged with delivering UK success at the Olympic and Paralympic games. To achieve this it takes a 'no compromise' approach to its investment, targeting resources and activity at those athletes and sports deemed most capable of medal winning performances. Individual sports are allocated their funding through the UK Sport World Class Pathway programme, with the amount determined by a formula that includes results from the previous games and current rankings, as well as future medal potential and the identification of talent.
	In addition, some Olympic sports are funded by Home Country Sports Councils in pursuit of their wider aims and objectives; for example, increasing participation in sport. In England, Sport England provides funding to 21 Olympic sports to support delivery of their four-year strategic plans at community level. The sports apply the funding they receive to deliver against a range of key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs include increasing the number of accredited clubs, the number of club members and the numbers of coaches and volunteers working within their sport.
	Furthermore, as a part of the joint DfES/DCMS National School Sport strategy, Sport England also funds a total of 18 Olympic sports to support delivery of school club links and volunteer and leadership opportunities for young people.

WALES

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office values diversity and accommodates different work patterns including home working.
	Over the past year a number of staff have followed a flexible working pattern, working the occasional day or half day at home, whether to suit personal circumstances or to assist in the completion of a specific task. One member of Wales Office staff has a more formal arrangement for home working.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not grant contracts of employment. Wales Office staff are either on loan from the Welsh Assembly Government or employed by the Ministry of Justice.

SCOTLAND

Departments: Pay

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of his Department's staff received a bonus in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007.

David Cairns: The figure for 2006-07 was 25 per cent. the figure is not yet available for 2007-08.

Elections: Ballot Papers

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 921-22W, on elections: ballot papers, 
	(1)  who chaired the Electronic Counting Project Board that negotiated the contract to deliver an electronic counting service;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract negotiated with DRS for delivery of an electronic counting service, redacted as necessary;
	(3)  which individuals were members of the Electronic Counting Project Board that negotiated the contract to deliver an electronic counting service.

David Cairns: The Electronic Counting Project Board was chaired by the Scottish Executive's Head of Local Governance and Licensing Division.
	We do not intend placing a copy of the electronic counting contract with DRS in the Library at present but we will review this after completion of the Electoral Commission's independent review of the May elections. We have made it clear that Mr Ron Gould and his review team will have access to all the documents they require, including those relating to e-counting.
	The members of the Electronic Counting Project Board were: the Scottish Executive's Head of Local Governance and Licensing Division, an official from the Scottish Executive's Local Democracy Team, the E-counting Project Manager, the Scotland Office's Head of Elections and Social Policy Branch and the Scotland Office's Elections Policy Advisor, the Returning Officer for East Renfrewshire, the Deputy Returning Officer for Edinburgh City Council, Head of Elections at DRS Data Services Limited, Project Manager from DRS Data Services Limited, and a representative of Electoral Reform Services.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons Commission: Manpower

John Maples: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1060W, on House of Commons Commission: manpower, if he will list the 85 posts which carry salaries in excess of £60,000; and what the salary is of each post.

Nick Harvey: Information about senior staff with salaries in excess of £60,277 was placed in the Library in January in response to a question from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns), 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 652W. I will write to the hon. Member with further details. Current pay ranges for all staff can be found on the parliamentary intranet.

Parking

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many car parking spaces there are on the Commons part of the parliamentary estate  (a) in the underground car park and  (b) elsewhere.

Nick Harvey: A total of 600 car parking spaces are available on the parliamentary estate, nearly 500 of which are in the New Palace Yard multi-storey underground car park.

Smoking

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission on what date the Commission last discussed implementation of the forthcoming ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces on the parliamentary estate; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: As the minutes published on the internet http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/house_of_commons_commission_hccfm120307.cfm show, the Commission discussed smoking on 12 March 2007. The policy on the subject is set out in a written answer to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Doran) on 20 March 2008,  Official Report , column 757W.
	The Health Act 2006 introduces a ban on smoking in workplaces and enclosed or substantially enclosed public places from 1 July 2007. While the Act does not formally apply on the parliamentary estate, the Commission, on the advice of the Administration Committee, has decided that the House should comply with the principles of the legislation, as it is not desirable that those who work on or visit the parliamentary estate should be treated differently in this respect than in other workplaces and public places. The Commission recognises, however, that many who work on the estate are unavoidably present for long periods, particularly when the House is sitting. It is therefore desirable to make reasonable provision for those who wish to smoke to do so, provided that the health and safety of other users of the estate is not adversely affected.
	With these principles in mind, the Commission has decided that smoking should cease to be permitted from 1 July 2007 in all internal areas of the House of Commons estate, including in bars and private offices. From that date smoking will, however, be permitted in four designated external areas: the Terrace, Commons Court (North West corner), North Terrace (between Portcullis House and Norman Shaw South), and in a designated area on the west side of Canon Row courtyard. Cigarette receptacles will be provided in these areas. "No Smoking" signs will be displayed at entrances to the buildings.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Asylum: Iraq

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has increased its presence in  (a) Syria,  (b) Jordan and  (c) Egypt to assist Iraqi refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Iraq and the increasing numbers of people who have been displaced due to ongoing violence.
	DFID has not increased its presence in Syria, Jordan or Egypt in response to the refugee crisis. We continue to work closely with international humanitarian partners to ensure agencies are adequately resourced and equipped to respond to needs such as food, water, shelter and medical assistance.
	To date, we have contributed £1.5 million to the UN high commission for refugees' (UNHCR) appeal to help refugees in neighbouring countries. This was part of a £10 million package, which we have provided so far this year, to help vulnerable people inside Iraq and those displaced to other countries in the region. In total, DFID has provided £125 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq since 2003.

Democracy: Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on projects promoting democracy in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's support to democracy programmes is part of our broader approach to good governance. One of the components of good governance is an open and transparent political system with strong political institutions. This means our democracy work includes support to civil society to improve their capacity to hold Governments to account; initiatives to build accountability into our health and education programmes to improve Government responsiveness to poor people; and work to strengthen political systems more broadly, including popular participation in the decision-making process. The latter includes direct support to elections and Parliaments.
	In total, DFID's direct bilateral spend on governance programmes was £212 million in 2004-05, £322 million in 2005-06 and £286 million in 2006-07. Within this DFID spent £14 million directly on democratic elections in 2004-5, £17.1 million in 2005-06 and £15.5 million in 2006-7. Over the next five years, our support to governance will include an additional £100 million for the governance and transparency fund.
	The aforementioned figures do not include our support to the UN, EU and other multilateral organisations some of which is used to fund governance and democracy promotion programmes. However, DFID does not hold details of what proportion of these contributions were used to assist with the promotion of democracy.
	Note that the figures for 2006-07 are provisional estimates only.

Departments: Homeworking

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not keep records of the number of home workers.
	However, DFID operates a 'one machine' policy under which each member of staff chooses to be equipped with either a desktop computer or, subject to the approval of their Head of Department, a laptop computer. The laptop option enables staff to work from home or at other remote locations while travelling on behalf of the Department. Currently, 1,750 staff have been issued with laptops.
	DFID is committed to improving work/life balance and accommodates a wide range of different work patterns including the use of home and remote working. DFID's policy is set out both in the staff handbook, which is available to all staff electronically, and in two booklets, "Flexible Working", and "Remote Working" which staff receive on appointment. In a recent management survey, 84 per cent. of staff strongly believed that their line managers actively support flexible working.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Gareth Thomas: DFID employs both UK-based civil servants and staff engaged overseas on local terms and conditions of service. I have provided a breakdown of the data for the categories requested for both amalgamated groups in the following tables. Table 1 shows all contracts awarded during the years 2004-06, inclusive, broken down by gender. Table 2 shows the same breakdown across the categories for those in the over 55 age range. During the same period seven staff with registered disabilities were awarded contracts. (One temporary, six permanent—of which one was part-time).
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Perm  Full-time  Part-time  Temp  Full-time  Part-time  Total  Totals per year 
			  2004 
			 Male 167 167 — 30 29 1 197  
			 Female 182 173 9 30 30 — 212 409 
			  
			  2005 
			 Male 108 106 2 16 16 — 124  
			 Female 97 86 1 22 22 — 119 243 
			  
			  2006 
			 Male 83 81 2 13 12 1 96  
			 Female 91 84 7 21 20 1 112 208 
			  
			 Total employees 728   132   860 860 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Age over 55 
			   Perm  Full-time  Part-time  Temp  Full-time  Part- time  Total  Totals per year 
			  2004 
			 Male 5 5 — 4 4 — 9  
			 Female 4 4 — — — — 4 13 
			  
			  2005 
			 Male 5 4 1 2 1 — 7  
			 Female 1 1 — — — — 1 8 
			  
			  2006 
			 Male 3 3 — 1 1 — 4  
			 Female 2 2 — — — — 2 6 
			  
			 Total employees 20   7   27 27

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of staff in his Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

Gareth Thomas: DFID employs both UK-based civil servants and staff engaged overseas on local terms and conditions of service. The following table shows the information which is available for both groups and for DFID as a whole. Information on gender, disability and age are all provided on a voluntary basis, and is incomplete for those staff engaged locally overseas. The response rate on disability in particular is very low. The percentages quoted are therefore based upon the numbers where we do have the relevant information, and the total percentage with a disability is for only our UK-based staff.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Male  Female  Disabled  Aged 55 + 
			 UK-based 50 50 3 12 
			 Locally engaged 50 50 n/a 19 
			 Total 50 50 3 14 
			 n/a = Not available.

Departments: Official Visits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which destinations he visited in an official capacity between 17 May and 17 June.

Hilary Benn: I made no regional or overseas visits in an official capacity between 17 May and 17 June.

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in 2006-07; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The following tables give the number of bonuses awarded to DFID staff in 2006-07. All bonus payments are non-pensionable.
	
		
			 Bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   2006-07 
			 Number of awards 66 
			 Percentage of total SCS workforce 78 
			 Total cost (£) 389,100 
			 Largest single payment (£) 12,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Bonuses awarded to DFID staff in grades below the SCS 
			   2006-07 
			 Number of awards 1,020 
			 Percentage of total HCS workforce below the SCS 62 
			 Total cost (£) 558,233 
			 Largest single payment (£) 1,150

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) services and  (b) products his Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has had no contracts with Remploy in the last 12 months.

Gaza: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation of the civilian population in Gaza following the takeover of the area's administration by Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) makes regular assessments of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Between 9 and 13 June, OCHA reported that 110 Palestinians were killed and over 550 injured. However, relative calm has now returned. People are out in the streets and shops are open.
	The major concern among humanitarian agencies now is the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Israel has allowed some humanitarian supplies to enter. Shortages of basic food supplies are likely to occur within days unless access is restored for private traders. The UK Government have called for the re-opening of the Kami crossing.

Humanitarian Aid: Gaza

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of the recent violence in Gaza on the operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: 70 per cent. of Gaza's population, around 1 million people, are registered as refugees and are eligible for support from the UNRWA. On 13 June the UNRWA suspended all operations in Gaza except for essential medical services and emergency food distributions. This followed the killing of two of its staff in intra-Palestinian violence. On 17 June, the UNRWA returned to full operations, but warned that its support programmes depended on regular humanitarian supplies through Gaza's borders with Israel.

Humanitarian Aid: Sri Lanka

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received on the murder of aid workers in Sri Lanka; and what guidance his Department is making available for UK aid workers in Sri Lanka.

Gareth Thomas: We have received several representations from the British and Sri Lankan NGO communities about the murder of two Red Cross workers on 2 June and the deaths of 17 workers from a French NGO in August 2006. We have raised the issue of humanitarian security with the Sri Lankan Government repeatedly and pressed for the perpetrators of these appalling crimes to be brought to justice.
	The UK advises British nationals, including aid workers, against all travel to the north and east of Sri Lanka. Ultimately aid workers and the agencies that employ them are responsible for their own security. Staff at the British High Commission in Colombo meet representatives of the British NGO community on a monthly basis to share information on security and other operational issues. Aid workers are also encouraged to register their presence in Sri Lanka with the British High Commission. Where appropriate, the FCO will support British nationals who are caught up in conflict, civil unrest and natural catastrophes.

Iraq: Internally Displaced Persons

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk of 7 June 2007, official report, column 685W, on Iraq: internally displaced persons, what form he expects the Iraqi Government's lead role in supporting Iraqi refugees outside Iraq to take; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The most important thing that needs to happen in Iraq is an end to the spiralling violence responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian situation and increasing levels of displacement. The Government of Iraq have put dealing with security at the top of their agenda and we will continue to support them. Furthermore, it has primary responsibility to ensure the protection of its citizens.
	At the April UNHCR Conference in Geneva, the Government of Iraq made a commitment to take the lead in providing support and security for their citizens, including those who have fled the country. In the first phase, they pledged $25 million to finance the establishment of migration offices in Jordan and Syria. These offices will support vulnerable Iraqis and help alleviate the burden of the influx of refugees on host countries. We will continue to press them to step up their response to the situation and develop their policy on how best to provide assistance.

Mozambique: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has provided to health systems in each of the last five years in  (a) Mozambique and  (b) China; and what the (i) objectives, (ii) time scales and (iii) funding were of such programmes.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has actively supported the health systems in Mozambique for a number of years. DFID Mozambique provided support to the Technical Planning Unit within the Ministry of Health to facilitate development of a national health plan for the period 2000-05. DFID also funded the HIV/AIDS and Maternal Health Programme (2001-07) which aims to increase access to and use of good quality reproductive and sexual health services. DFID funding of the Essential Medicines programme (2000-06) aimed to improve the availability and rational use of essential medicines by strengthening procurement and distribution systems.
	DFID is currently supporting the development of a Sustainable Distribution System for Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) for Malaria Prevention. The programme, which has a total allocated budget of £8.6 million, started in 2005 and is due to run until 2010. It builds upon the lessons learnt as a result of a pilot Malaria Prevention and Treatment project. DFID recently agreed a new five-year programme of support to the Ministry of Health for £3.7 million per annum. In 2006, DFID also signed a five-year £215 million programme of direct support to the budget of the Government of Mozambique, which helps provide additional funding for health systems. The total amount of bilateral DFID expenditure in the health sector in Mozambique is shown in the following table. This includes a notional proportion of DFID's general budget support.
	
		
			  DFID bilateral expenditure on health in Mozambique,  2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2002-03 10.2 
			 2003-04 13.3 
			 2004-05 16.3 
			 2005-06 15.9 
			 2006-07 (1)11. 9 
			 (1) Provisional. 
		
	
	DFID has been working in the health sector in China since 1999. The focus has been on helping the Chinese Government to control HIV and AIDS, increasing the detection and cure rate for people suffering from tuberculosis, and reforming the health system so that poor people receive basic health services. The total amount of bilateral DFID expenditure in the health sector in China is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  DFID bilateral expenditure on health in China, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2002-03 12.6 
			 2003-04 11.1 
			 2004-05 10.5 
			 2005-06 13.0 
			 2006-07 (1)11. 9 
			 (1) Provisional.

Mozambique: Health Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to facilitate the provision of health care free at the point of access in  (a) Mozambique and  (b) China.

Gareth Thomas: It is for national Governments to decide their own policies in relation to user fees in health. However, because of our own UK experience and that of developing countries, DFID is committed to helping countries that want to remove charges at the point of delivery. The recent White Paper commits DFID to help partner Governments abolish user fees for basic health services and help them tackle other barriers to access, including discrimination against women.
	DFID is working with the Government of China to facilitate the provision of free (or substantially subsidised by the Government) primary health care. China is formulating a major health policy to address inequity in the health system, of which free primary health care for all is likely to be an important feature. Meanwhile various health insurance programmes for urban and rural residents will be improved to provide better financial risk protection and reduce out-of-pocket payments on in-patient services.
	DFID has supported China on rural and urban health and health policy capacity building since 1999. Our large and well designed pilots have provided evidence to Chinese policy makers on rural and urban health reform, which is now being used to inform the development of the new policies.
	In Mozambique, services are already formally free for malaria, TB, HIV treatment, maternal health services and immunisation for children. The Government of Mozambique have already made a public commitment to look at the case for removing fees, at least for primary health care. DFID is now working closely with the Government of Mozambique to consider the practical implications of removing the remaining user fees. This includes: studying the expected implications for demand; considering how systems will need to be reinforced to support the change; and preventing illegal charging. If the Government of Mozambique make a decision to abolish more fees, DFID will support this, including through our continued financial support to the sector.

Overseas Aid: Corruption

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what occasions and from whom the UK has sought the return of monies misappropriated from UK aid programmes.

Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to ensuring that its resources are used only for the purposes intended. The Department's Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy aims to ensure that resources lost through misappropriation are minimised, and that appropriate action is taken to recover such funds. A specialist Fraud Response Unit within DFID's internal audit function coordinates DFID's response to allegations of fraud and corruption, and provides support to management to strengthen systems and processes to prevent or detect future losses.
	Where a loss relates to activities which are being managed on DFID's behalf by an NGO, an international organisation or a similar partner with whom DFID has an ongoing relationship, the partner concerned will usually be required to absorb the loss and to complete delivery of the agreed development goals without additional DFID funding. Before agreeing to this course of action, DFID will first require adequate assurance that the weaknesses in the partner's systems which allowed the losses to occur have been addressed. In other cases, the Department's practice is normally to seek the repayment of the monies which have been misappropriated.
	Where DFID cannot obtain the necessary assurance that a partner's arrangements for preventing fraud and corruption have been strengthened, and hence that UK taxpayers' monies will be properly safeguarded, future funding may be withheld or the relationship with the partner may be terminated.
	The following table lists the cases, for the financial years 2004-05 to 2006-07 inclusive, where the UK has sought the return of monies misappropriated from UK aid programmes. This includes instances where there has been full or partial repayment to DFID of misappropriated funds, those where the partner organisation managing the activities on DFID's behalf has absorbed the losses itself, and those where no recovery could be achieved.
	
		
			   Location  Party from whom return was sought/circumstances of loss 
			 2004-05 Uganda Bank: Unidentified culprit cashed cheque claiming to be working for consultants. Funds recovered in full from bank. 
			 2004-05 The Gambia NGO: NGO suffered an internal fraud in the Gambia. Individuals were prosecuted and some funds returned. 
			 2004-05 Caribbean NGO: Misappropriation, including diversion of project salaries funded by DFID. Full amount recovered. 
			 2004-05 DR Congo International organisation: Financial irregularities within DFID-funded project. Audit undertaken by external auditor. Full funds recovered. 
			 2004-05 UK Private individual's estate: Pension still being claimed after staff member's death. Money refunded in full. 
			 2004-05 UK Credit card provider: Unauthorised use of credit card. Full refund made by card company 
			 2005-06 UK Staff member: Made false claim for payment of travel time. Recovered in full. 
			 2005-06 Rwanda Staff member: Theft of generators by DFID employee. Generators recovered, and employee dismissed. 
			 2005-06 Malawi Staff member: Cash received on project had not been banked. Staff member resigned and funds recovered in full. 
			 2005-06 Liberia Supplier: DFID contractor forging/stealing cheques. Company repaid the monies in full. 
			 2005-06 Southern Africa Staff members: Money stolen from office safe at project. Two staff dismissed and police notified. Funds recovered in full. 
			 2005-06 Kenya Contractor: Equipment misappropriated. Culprit absconded before police could act. No recovery possible. 
			 2005-06 Malawi NGO: NGO discovered that their PAYE contributions had been diverted to pay tax on the importation of cars. Court proceedings have been initiated but not concluded. Monies recovered in full. 
			 2006-07 Kenya NGO: Double billing of donors. Amounts recovered in full. 
			 2006-07 Kenya NGO: Procurement irregularities, with work being awarded to relatives at inflated costs. Full recovery. 
			 2006-07 Kenya NGO: Insecticide-treated nets were sold by staff in medical centres to be used as fishing nets. Some supplies were recovered, others written off. Police involved. 
			 2006-07 UK Private individual's estate: Pension still being claimed after staff member's death by a relative, who has since herself died. Some monies recovered from the estate and HMRC. 
			 2006-07 Cambodia International organisation: Cash/cheque fraud by an international organisation's employees. Some monies returned. 
			 2006-07 Somalia Local community: Misuse of funds on an Accountable Grant funded project. Community members found responsible and funds repaid in full. 
			 2006-07 Malawi NGO: Over-claiming of school fees by NGO staff member. Funds repaid in full. 
			 2006-07 Ghana Supplier: Private company had been using a phone number for which DFID paid the bills. Full recovery. 
			 2006-07 Sudan NGO: NGO identified a fraud on a DFID-funded project and has since repaid the loss in full. 
		
	
	During the same period, 2004-05 to 2006-07, DFID also had a smaller number of instances where misappropriation of UK funds could be proven but where effective recovery action was not practicable due to the particular circumstances of each case—for example, where the culprits could not be identified or subsequently absconded, or where the value of the loss was lower than the cost of any recovery action. For completeness, these cases are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Location  Circumstances of loss 
			 2004-05 UK Payments intercepted in the mail. 
			 2004-05 UK Staff member tried to re-sell DFID-funded travel tickets. 
			 2004-05 Guyana NGO worker took unauthorised allowances. 
			 2005-06 Iraq Over-claiming of project-related salaries. 
			 2005-06 Nigeria Cash theft. 
			 2005-06 Nepal Burglary. 
			 2005-06 Iraq Loss of satellite telephone. 
			 2005-06 Kenya Equipment purchased without proper authority. 
			 2006-07 Rwanda Unauthorised use of vehicle.

Palestinians: EC Aid

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the restored EU funding to the Palestinian Authority will be directed to  (a) the West Bank and  (b) Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: On 18 June, EU Foreign Ministers discussed the resumption of assistance to the Palestinian Authority. They concluded that the EU should develop the conditions for urgent practical and financial assistance. The EU has not yet decided how this will be delivered. However, we will wish to ensure that assistance addresses the needs of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Palestinians: International Assistance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what changes are planned to the operation of the Temporary International Mechanism for the delivery of aid to the Palestinian people following recent events in Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: No decisions have yet been taken on changes to the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) following recent events in Gaza. The TIM continues to provide support for the basic needs of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Quartet recently extended the TIM until the end of September 2007.

Tanzania: Overseas Aid

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support has been given to the Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission in Tanzania for  (a) work in the area of water and sanitation and  (b) other work in each year since 1994; on what dates technical assistance grants were given; what the aid funding was for each grant; and to whom consultancy contracts were awarded.

Hilary Benn: The Tanzanian Government established the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) in 1993 to reform and privatise loss-making public entities (including ports, railways and airlines). At the time, there were approximately 400 such entities, costing the Government US $100 million annually.
	At the request of the Government of Tanzania, DFID provided a total of £7.1 million to the PSRC to support the divestiture of publicly-owned companies in Tanzania between 1992 and the end of our programme of support in March 2007.
	DFID's support helped to ensure that the privatisation process was implemented in a fair and transparent manner and that regulatory bodies were established to ensure privatised entities worked for the benefit of Tanzania. The assistance provided was used for the purposes of contracting advisory support for:
	management of the privatisation process
	broadening of share ownership—to afford Tanzanians greater opportunities to own shares in privatised entities
	amendments to relevant enabling legislation and regulations, and supporting the development of suitable local regulatory capacity
	Different companies were awarded contracts. All work was procured under prevailing Tanzanian Government procurement regulations. The grants provided were for:
	Technical Assistance—total value of £6.1 million (from 1992-2007)
	Development support—total value of £1 million (from 2003-07)
	The contracts that were provided for work in the area of water and sanitation are set out in table 1 as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1:  C ontracts awarded for water and sanitation work 
			  Date  Contractor  Purpose of work  Total value (£000) 
			 2001 Adam Smith International Conducting a water privatisation and regulatory study tour 55 
			 2001 Clifford Chance Provision of legal advice to DAWASA (1)150 
			 1997 John D. Davies Provision of short-term advice on achieving an appropriate private sector participation arrangement for DAWASA 31 
			 November 1997 GIBB East Africa Ltd Facilitation of a DAWASA workshop on privatisation 16 
			 Total — — 252 
			 (1) Part of the contract was denominated in US$. 
		
	
	The UK funded 10 contracts valued above £100,000 each in the period from 1992 to 2007 in support of PSRC. An additional 39 contracts of lesser value were awarded for smaller pieces of work—calculating the total value of these contracts would involve disproportionate cost. Table 2 sets out amounts and a description of the main grants and contractors.
	
		
			  Table 2:  C ontracts of £100,000 or more awarded in support of PSRC 
			  Date  Contractor  Nature of assignment  Total value (£000) 
			 1992-96 Devon Waide Advisory support to PSRC 846 
			 1998- 2000 Cezley Sampson Provision of advice on reform, divestiture and restructuring 302 
			 1998- 2002 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Provision of Utilities adviser to PSRC 697 
			 1999- 2000 Adam Smith International Establishment of PSRC Information Unit and provision of public relations support 496 
			 2001 GMA Capital Markets Ltd Conducting a capital markets absorptive study 129 
			 2001 Clifford Chance Provision of legal consultancy for the privatisation of Air Tanzania Corporation 315 
			 2002 Adam Smith International Provision of lead advisory support 230 
			 2002 Clifford Chance Provision of legal advice for the privatisation of Air Tanzania Corporation 210 
			 2002-05 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Provision of Technical Adviser and Utilities Adviser 623 
			 2006-07 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Provision of Utilities adviser to PSRC 178 
			 Total — — 4,026

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) mines,  (b) mortar rounds,  (c) projectiles by calibre,  (d) missiles and  (e) air dropped weapons were expended by members of UK armed forces as part of the NATO deployment in Afghanistan in each of the last six months.

Adam Ingram: I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Aircraft Carriers: Procurement

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the delay in the construction of the two new aircraft carriers for the UK has resulted in job losses at dockyards.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 June 2007
	No date has been set for commencement of manufacture of the future aircraft carriers and there has, therefore, been no delay. The main investment decision will be taken when we are confident that we have a robust, affordable deal.

Aircraft Carriers: Procurement

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on dockyards in the UK if the Government decide to collaborate with France in the construction of the proposed two new aircraft carriers for the UK;
	(2)  what talks have taken place with members of the aircraft carrier alliance on the involvement of France in the construction of the proposed two new aircraft carriers for the UK;
	(3)  what discussions there have been with trades unions about the involvement of France in the construction of the proposed two new aircraft carriers for the UK;

Adam Ingram: holding answer s  18 June 2007
	We have always stressed that co-operation with France through industry-to-industry links may offer potential benefits to both nations. This was covered most recently when my noble Friend the Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support, Lord Drayson met with the trade unions and the Aircraft Carrier Alliance Chief Executive last month. It has been agreed with France that for co-operation to work, it must deliver cost savings and must do so without delaying UK or French programmes.

Armed Forces: Dental Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the duties are of each defence dental personnel role; how many hours per week those in each role are expected to devote to the provision of dental care; and how many patients those in each role saw in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) location and  (b) number of personnel was for each operational deployment in 1997.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much HM Treasury has passed to the Ministry of Defence from monies received from Annington Homes in connection with sales of former Ministry of Defence housing and land in  (a) the UK and  (b) Colchester.

Derek Twigg: These monies enter a consolidated general cash account and are not paid back to the Ministry of Defence directly by Her Majesty's Treasury.

Armed Forces: Pay

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed service personnel have received a tax-free bonus for service in  (a) Iraq,  (b) Afghanistan and  (c) the Balkans since October 2006.

Derek Twigg: The information broken down by operational theatre is not held within legacy service pay systems and the new Joint Personnel Administration system in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As at 13 June 2007, some 46,333 armed forces personnel had received payment of the tax-free Operational Allowance. This figure includes payments to Army personnel for more than one operational tour and excludes payments after 31 March 2007 to deceased, discharged and special forces personnel for all three services.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been undertaken on the vertical and horizontal centre of gravity position of each of the various types of Land Rover used by the armed forces.

Adam Ingram: The Department examined centre of gravity issues for Wolf Land Rovers when the Bowman communication system was introduced. The suspension on vehicles fitted for radios and Weapons Mount Installation Kits was improved by the fitment of a rear anti roll bar, which improved the vehicle's stability.
	Snatch Land Rovers have also been assessed to examine the effects on stability and performance by the fitment of armour and the variety of potential load configurations.
	The latest Land Rovers, like other vehicles procured by the MOD, were subject to rigorous assessment through a military validation and trials period, prior to acceptance into service.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution the UK has made to the study agreed at the NATO summit in Riga in 2006 on a collective alliance territorial missile defence system.

Des Browne: The missile defence feasibility study that was delivered to the NATO summit in 2006 was financed from NATO common funds to which the UK contributes. QinetiQ were part of the industrial consortium that undertook the work. In common with other NATO nations, the UK reviewed and commented upon the feasibility study, and contributes to the continuing discussions in NATO on the implications of missile defence for the alliance.

Bank of England

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have given authorisations in relation to monies (i) held in and (ii) transferred from a British Aerospace account at the Bank of England since May 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the Paymaster General and her officials was in relation to the Bank of England account used for payments under the support services annexes to the Al Yamamah contract.

Des Browne: holding  answers  19 June 2007
	The Department is not aware of any such account.

Defence: Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of orders for urgent operational requirements placed in the last 12 months; and if he will list those items of equipment costing over £250,000.

Adam Ingram: Between 1 June 2006 and 31 May 2007 the total value of approved urgent operational requirements was some £810 million. As the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are still ongoing, much information regarding specific urgent operational requirements remains operationally sensitive and is withheld as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the security of our armed forces.

Departments: Advertising

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much revenue his Department received from advertisements on his Department's  (a) public information leaflets and  (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Aviation

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by  (a) civil servants and  (b) Ministers in his Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost of such flights was.

Derek Twigg: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Ex-servicemen: Military Decorations

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to extend the eligibility for the issue of Veterans lapel badges to former members of the Women's Land Army.

Derek Twigg: Although the Women's Land Army included the word "Army" in its title, it was a civilian organisation formed to support agricultural production. While the Ministry of Defence acknowledges the importance of the efforts of all those who contributed to the country's war efforts in 1914-18 and 1939-45, it is not responsible for the recognition of those who served in such civilian occupations. Nor would it be appropriate to extend to them eligibility for the armed forces Veterans badge which was instituted specifically as a mark of recognition of service in the United Kingdom's armed forces.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contracts his Department has with private military and security companies for services provided in Iraq; what the value is of each such contract; what contracts are being  (a) negotiated and  (b) considered; what the expected value is of such contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: For the purposes of this response I have taken the question to refer to armed security contracts.
	The use of private mobility and security companies for the static guarding of empty buildings is currently being considered.
	I also refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 5 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1657W, to the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Derek Conway). No contracts are currently being negotiated between MOD and private military and security companies for services in Iraq.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes's constituent Mr. Ron Nield to be sent a reply to his letter to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency.

Derek Twigg: If the hon. Member could provide me with Mr. Nield's personal details (including service number if applicable), the date and subject matter of his letter and the address he wrote to I will be happy to provide him with the information he seeks.

Military Bases: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many years the consortium awarded the private finance initiative for the Colchester garrison will have ownership of the land.

Derek Twigg: Under the terms of the Colchester garrison redevelopment contract RMPA Services PLC was granted a 150-year head lease over the land that forms the new garrison site. The Ministry of Defence retains overall ownership.

Nimrod Aircraft

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fuel leaks were recorded aboard RAF Nimrod aircraft in the six months prior to September 2006.

Adam Ingram: Between the period 1 March 2006 and 31 August 2006 a total of 52 fuel leaks were reported on Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft. A fuel leak is defined as any leakage of fuel from aircraft couplings, pipes or fuel tanks. These did not compromise the safety of the aircraft and were rectified under normal maintenance procedures.

North Atlantic Council

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the outcome of the North Atlantic Council defence ministers meeting on 14 and 15 June 2007.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 June 2007
	NATO Defence Ministers discussed a range of issues including the continuing transformation of NATO's capabilities, missile defence, and operational commitments in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Force planning issues were discussed at the annual meeting of the Defence Planning Committee in Defence Ministers' Session, and nuclear planning issues at the Nuclear Planning Group.
	In addition, Afghanistan's Defence Minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak attended a special session of the North Atlantic Council together with the non-NATO nations contributing to the International Security Assistance Force. Allies underlined their commitment to the mission in Afghanistan, noted the progress that has already been made, and stressed the importance of Afghan ownership of security issues. The Council noted that the UN had been given a wider remit in the current Security Council Resolution and supported the efforts of the UN to maximise its impact and to expand its presence in the provinces of Afghanistan.
	The Council also condemned the Taliban practice of deliberately endangering the civilian population of Afghanistan and underlined NATO's commitment to avoiding civilian casualties.
	A copy of the final communiqué of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers' Session can be found at:
	http://www.nato.int/docu/pr/2007/p07-070e.html

Project Al Yamamah

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funds have been held by the Defence Export Services Organisation in relation to the Al Yamamah defence contract since May 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The financial arrangements of the Al Yamamah programme are confidential between the two Governments. I am withholding details as they would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations and harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

Project Al Yamamah

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to authorise the publication of the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports on the Al Yamamah contract.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 December 2005,  Official Report, column 1495W, to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone).

Project Al Yamamah

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will publish the annexes to the Al Yamamah contract which cover support services;
	(2)  what requirement was laid down in the Al Yamamah contract on BAE to inform Ministers of payments made under the support services annexes of the contract; and if he will list all payments reported to Ministers as having been made under those provisions showing  (a) the date,  (b) the purpose and  (c) the recipients of such payments.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which Ministers in his Department have been informed of payments made under the support services annexes of the Al Yamamah contract since 1997;
	(2)  when Ministers in his Department were first informed of payments being made by BAE Systems under annexes on support services to the Al Yamamah contract;
	(3)  what mechanisms were in place in his Department for official authorisation of payments made under the support services annexes of the Al Yamamah contract by BAE Systems before 1 June 2007;
	(4)  when the last payment was made by BAE under the support services annexes of the Al Yamamah contract of which his Department was made aware; and what information he has on arrangements for any future payments.

Des Browne: holding answer s  19 June 2007
	 Agreements reached under the Al Yamamah programme are confidential between the two Governments. I am withholding details as they would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations and harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

RAF Brize Norton

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether landing rights have been provided to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia at RAF Brize Norton; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: A Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence and Aviation registered aircraft used by Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, HZ-124, has been granted landing rights at RAF Brize Norton. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1053W, to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable).

Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the status of the Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme.

Des Browne: holding answer 19 June 2007
	The Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme was completed in July 2001; an unclassified summary of the work is available in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Anthony Bailey

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role  (a) Anthony Bailey and  (b) Eligo International played in the Academies programme; and what payments each received.

Jim Knight: Anthony Bailey is on the governing body for Sheffield Park academy and Sheffield Springs academy, which are sponsored by the United Learning Trust.
	Eligo International has no role in the Academies programme.
	There have been no payments made by the Department to either Anthony Bailey or Eligo International.

Apprenticeships

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of students entering  (a) apprenticeships and  (b) advanced apprenticeships were already in employment in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: Data on apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships are collected on the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) individualised learner record (ILR). The work-based learning (WBL) ILR was collated for the first time in 2002/03 and figures are given from that time. The following table shows the number of learners starting advanced apprenticeships and apprenticeships each year who were in employment on the day before their training commenced as a percentage of all starts.
	
		
			   Learners in employment  
			   Number  Percentage  Total learners 
			  2002/03
			 Advanced Apprenticeship 38,110 57 67,120 
			 Apprenticeship 82,570 61 136,400 
			 
			  2003/04
			 Advanced Apprenticeship 38,510 68 56,960 
			 Apprenticeship 95,970 70 136,610 
			 
			  2004/05
			 Advanced Apprenticeship 36,020 67 53,920 
			 Apprenticeship 93,590 69 135,120 
			 
			  2005/06
			 Advanced Apprenticeship 39,400 76 52,130 
			 Apprenticeship 88,450 72 122,850 
			  Note: Learners who are not employed on the day before their apprenticeship starts could enter as an employed status apprentice and their employment status then changes because of the Apprenticeship programme.

Children in Care: Standards

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that Ofsted involve young people with experience of care in its inspecting of care homes.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 15 June 2007:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked whether Ofsted would ensure that young people with experience of care are involved in its inspection of care homes.
	Ofsted involves young people by seeking their views during inspection and through highly focused surveys and consultation exercises. Seeking the views of young people is part of the statutory duties of the new Ofsted and developing this further is explicitly outlined in our new Strategic Plan.
	Following the expansion of our remit in April this year, Ofsted is working hard to bring together the very best from all four predecessor organisations. At this stage, we are focusing on creating a high quality inspection programme across our expanded remit. We are also looking to incorporate the changes made to the National Minimum Standards and develop this work further over the next few years. This development work will include a range and choice of different methods for all children in inspected services to feed in their views about inspection outcomes.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

City Academies: Private Sector

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether any city academy school sites are owned by private sector interests.

Jim Knight: holding answer 7 June  2007
	We are aware of one case where the freehold of an academy site is held by a private sector organisation. In this case, the land has been leased to the local authority which in turn has leased it to the Academy Trust.
	We do not maintain central records which record whether Academy Trusts have freehold or leasehold interests and who granted them. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, in all cases, the Academy Trust either owns the freehold of the site or will have been granted a lease of either 99 or 125 years. Where academies are being developed as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, the Academy Trust will be granted a 125-year lease from the local authority which will commence upon completion of the building.

Class Sizes

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of all pupils aged five, six or seven have been taught in classes of 31 or more in each local education authority in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

Class Sizes: Middlesbrough

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size was for  (a) secondary schools and  (b) primary schools in Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : average class size( 2) : Position in January each year 1998 to 2007( 3) : Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency 
			   Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency  England 
			   Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary 
			 1998 26.4 22.2 27.7 21.7 
			 1999 26.3 22.1 27.5 21.9 
			 2000 26.0 22.1 27.1 22.0 
			 2001 25.4 22.3 26.7 22.0 
			 2002 24.1 21.1 26.3 21.9 
			 2003 24.6 21.5 26.3 21.9 
			 2004 24.0 21.5 26.2 21.8 
			 2005 23.4 23.1 26.2 21.7 
			 2006 23.8 22.7 26.3 21.5 
			 2007(3) 24.0 22.4 26.2 21.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Classes taught by one teacher during a single selected period on the census day in January. (3) Provisional data  Source:  School Census

Classroom Assistants

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many learning support assistants there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Tables have been placed in the House Library showing the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools by local authority in each year from January 1997 to 2006 the latest information available.

Curriculum: Citizenship

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the scope for teaching citizenship outside places of education.

Jim Knight: The post 16 Citizenship support programme encourages development of relevant curriculum models across a wide range of provider types (including work-based, and youth and community providers). The emphasis is on active participation in young people's own communities. The Ofsted report on Citizenship found that the programme has been successful in showing what can be done in schools, colleges, youth centres and work-based training and recommended that such examples be shared more widely. This recommendation is being taken forward by the programme.

Degrees: Gender

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) women and  (b) men did not complete their degree in each of the last five years, broken down by the number of UCAS points on university entry.

Bill Rammell: Projected non-completion rates are released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) each year within the performance indicators in higher education publication.
	The latest available non-completion projections are shown in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1:Proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution: 
			   Percentage 
			 1999-2000 15.9 
			 2000-01 15.0 
			 2001-02 14.1 
			 2002-03 14.4 
			 2003-04 14.9 
			  Source: "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA 
		
	
	The 2004-05 figure will be released by HESA on 19 July 2007. These non-completion rates are not available broken down by gender or entry qualification. Drop-out is more likely to occur during the first year of higher education. The performance indicators also include non-continuation rates, which show the proportion of entrants who are not detected in higher education after their first year. The latest available non-continuation rates are shown in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of UK-domiciled young entrants to full-time first degree courses at UK HEIs not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			   Percentage 
			 1999-2000 7.8 
			 2000-01 7.1 
			 2001-02 7.3 
			 2002-03 7.8 
			 2003-04 7.7 
			  Source: "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA 
		
	
	The 2004-05 figure will be released by HESA on 19 July 2007. The 2002-03 and 2003-04 non-continuation rates are available broken down by entry qualification, as shown in table 3.
	
		
			  Table 3: Percentage of UK-domiciled young entrants to full-time first degrees in UK HEIs in 2002-03 and 2003-04 not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			  Entry qualification Categories  Tariff points  Entrants 2002-03  Entrants 2003-04 
			 A-levels or Highers: Unknown 11.3 12.6 
			  Up to 200 11.7 11.9 
			  201 to 290 7.9 8.1 
			  291 to 380 4.9 5.3 
			  Above 380 2.6 2.8 
			 Other qualifications — 11.4 11.6 
			 All qualifications — 7.8 7.7 
			  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) 
		
	
	The 2003-04 non-continuation rate is available broken down by gender, as shown in table 4.
	
		
			  Table 4: Percentage of UK-domiciled young entrants to full-time first degrees in UK HEIs in 2003-04 not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			   Rate  Benchmark 
			 Female 6.7 7.3 
			 Male 8.8 8.1 
			 Total 7.7 — 
			  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)

Departments: Compensation

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was paid in compensation to  (a) pupils and  (b) teachers by his Department in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: We have no records of any compensation payments made to pupils by the Department in the period since 1997. In 2003, a payment was made by the Department to a teacher assigned to the European Schools system in respect of the threshold pay that would have been paid had the teacher remained employed in maintained schools in England and Wales. The amount paid was £2,001. This answer has been provided on the assumption that it relates to payments to serving teachers. It therefore excludes any payments made under the Teachers' Pension Scheme to retired teachers.

Departments: Vetting

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which Ministers in his Department have been Criminal Records Bureau checked.

Alan Johnson: No DfES Minister is Criminal Records Bureau checked for holding ministerial office because such an office is not one of the excepted professions, offices, employments, work and occupations listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, as amended.

Education: Capital Investment

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital expenditure there was in the education sector in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department maintains records of capital allocations on a local authority rather than a constituency basis, also not on an expenditure basis. This is because local authorities may have access to other capital resources, and they decide locally when and how resources should be spent. Capital allocations by the Department to Blackpool, North and Fleetwood in each year since 1997 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996-97 0.00 
			 1997-98 0.00 
			 1998-99 2.81 
			 1999-2000 4.33 
			 2000-01 7.30 
			 2001-02 8.83 
			 2002-03 7.38 
			 2003-04 17.03 
			 2004-05 14.99 
			 2005-06 11.61 
			 2006-07 8.81 
			 2007-08 5.04 
		
	
	The nil figures in 1996-97 and 1997-98 reflect local authority re-organisation.
	The drop in 2007-08 is due to the fact that no Targeted Capital Fund (TCF) allocations are being announced this year. However, £3.8 million TCF allocations in 2005-06, and £3.9 million TCF allocations in 2007-08, will result in phased expenditure over a three year period commencing in the year of TCF allocations, including 2007-08. Other changes, from year to year, are affected by local authority forecasts of pupil numbers.

Education: West Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital expenditure there was in the education sector in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department maintains records of capital allocations on a local authority rather than a constituency basis, also not on an expenditure basis. This is because local authorities may have access to other capital resources, and they decide locally when and how resources should be spent. Capital allocations by the Department to Lancashire in each year since 1997 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996-07 12.9 
			 1997-08 13.3 
			 1998-09 19.5 
			 1999-2000 36.8 
			 2000-01 42.2 
			 2001-02 36.0 
			 2002-03 55.5 
			 2003-04 62.6 
			 2004-05 44.2 
			 2005-06 38.1 
			 2006-07 54.7 
			 2007-08 46.7 
		
	
	The increase in funding of £16.6 million in 2006-07, compared with 2005-06, is largely explained by Targeted Capital Fund schemes and a maintained boarding schools grant.

English Language: Education

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of English as an additional language pupils in West Lancashire constituency.

Jim Knight: The information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1 ) : number ad percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to e other than English( 2) 
			   Number of pupils( 2)  Number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English  Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 3) 
			 West Lancashire constituency 12,641 6,614 52.3 
			 England 6,574,560 789,790 12.0 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Excludes dually registered pupils. (3 )The number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (4 )Figures for England have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Notes: As at January 2007 (Provisional) West Lancashire Constituency  Source: School Census

Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant: Peterborough City Council

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he next plans to review the allocation of ethnic minority achievement grant to Peterborough city council; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government allocate resources to Departments on a three year cycle through spending reviews. DfES received its settlement for 2008-11 in the 2007 Budget. We are currently reviewing the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant allocation for the next spending review period and aim to make an announcement in the autumn.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, how many children are expected to participate in each tuition programme in each financial year until 2010-11;
	(2)  how many hours per week of one-to-one tuition in mathematics he expects to be provided to each child per week under  (a) the Making Good Progress scheme and  (b) the more intensive initiative;
	(3)  on what date he expects detailed funding allocations for the two schemes to be announced;
	(4)  whether his Department received its full allocation of finances for the two programmes within its settlement in the 2007 Budget;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the cost of employing new staff to provide the one-to-one tuition in each financial year until 2010-11;
	(6)  on what date his Department first announced the more intensive initiative;
	(7)  when his Department first started making plans for the more intensive initiative.

Jim Knight: The Department is planning two separate, but related one-to-one tuition programmes, which will raise standards in maths:
	one-to-one tuition to help 300,000 children who have fallen behind in English and mathematics by 2010-11. Such support is being trialled in the 'Making Good Progress' pilot; and
	a more intensive initiative specifically designed for early intervention in mathematics; a counterpart to the 'Every Child a Reader' literacy programme, on which we are already committed to nationwide roll-out.
	The possibility of establishing a numeracy equivalent to Every Child a Reader was under consideration within the Department early in the new year, prior to the Chancellor's announcement at the Confederation of British Industry on 15 May.
	We are currently in the process of planning the scope, resources and roll-out of the early intervention programme and analysing which areas of maths require most support. This will include looking at the numbers of children expected to participate as well as costs of employing new staff.
	Under the Making Good Progress pilot children who have been identified for tuition in either mathematics or English will be entitled to up to 10 hours of one-to-one support. We have not recommended a particular pattern of delivery but have suggested that this should be decided on an individual basis. We estimate that the tuition offered through Making Good Progress pilot will reach 10,750 children in each of English and Maths in each of 2007-08 and 2008-09. The comprehensive spending review provides for 300,000 children in each of English and maths in 2010-11. We are currently considering plans on how to build up to that number.
	Funding of £20 million for implementation of the Making Good Progress pilot in the first academic year, 2007/08, was announced on 6 June along with details of participating pilot schools. There will be further funding for implementation in the second academic year which will be settled through the Comprehensive Spending Review process.
	We will announce detailed allocations for the more intensive initiative in due course.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, on what date the Making Good Progress pilot was  (a) first announced and  (b) started.

Jim Knight: The initial proposal for the Making Good Progress pilot was set out in the consultation document "Making Good Progress: How can we help every pupil to make good progress at school?" and launched on 8 January 2007. Following the consultation the list of participating schools and further details about the proposed pilot were announced on 6 June. The pilot, which will span two academic years, will begin in schools in September 2007 and finish in July 2009.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, how much has been spent on the Making Good Progress pilot.

Jim Knight: Funding of £20 million for implementation of the Making Good Progress pilot in the first academic year, 2007/08, was announced on 6 June along with details of participating pilot schools. There will be further funding for implementation in the second academic year which will be settled through the Comprehensive Spending Review process.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, what programmes his Department has run since 1997 prior to the two programmes for providing one-to-one tuition in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics.

Jim Knight: The Department is implementing the Every Child a Reader (ECAR) programme. We are in the third year of a three-year pilot which is helping over 5,000 six-year-olds with significant literacy difficulties to learn to read. It does this by placing highly skilled reading recovery teachers in schools to provide intensive one-to-one or small group support to children most in need.
	As a result, we have announced that ECAR will be rolled out nationally from 2008-09, benefiting 30,000 children a year by 2011.
	In mathematics, intervention 'Springboard materials' have been used for a number of years to support those children who have been identified as working just below age-related expectations and who, with support, might catch-up with their peers. Although they are more often used in group work, they can be used on a one-to-one basis. Wave three intervention materials have more often been used for individuals as well as small groups. Both these materials offer teachers a tracking chart to audit the child's attainment and to identify where to pitch the support.
	The Department is also currently providing funding for reading mentors. We provide funding to Volunteer Reading Help (VRH); a charitable organisation which recruits, trains and places volunteers to give one-to-one help twice a week to children aged 6 to 11-years who find reading a challenge. Currently VRH has around 2,000 volunteer readers working with around 5,000 children.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, what contents and methods will be used in the  (a) Making Good Progress pilot and  (b) more intensive initiative.

Jim Knight: In "Making Good Progress" the one-to-one tuition will be a programme delivered by a qualified teacher and tailored to meet the needs of each individual child. As such there is no one method or set of materials which will be used. Tutors will liaise with the class teacher to ensure that the tuition that they offer meets the needs of that child and is closely tied in to the work that the child is doing in class.
	We are currently in the process of planning the scope and resources of the more intensive initiative. We will make a further announcement in due course.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 365W, on the Every Child Counts initiative, how his Department will determine whether a child has fallen behind in English and mathematics and is therefore eligible for one-to-one tuition.

Jim Knight: In the "Making Good Progress" pilot teachers will use assessment for learning techniques to make judgments about where a child is in their learning, identifying areas of pupil strength and priorities for improvement. Teachers will use these judgments to assess whether a pupil is falling behind age-related expectations and should be offered one-to-one support.
	We are currently in the process of planning the scope, resources and roll-out of the more intensive maths intervention programme, announced by the Chancellor on 15 May. This will include looking at how children will be assessed.

Every Child Counts Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to implement the Every Child Counts initiative on a national basis.

Jim Knight: The Department is planning two related one-to-one tuition programmes, which will raise standards in maths:
	one-to-one tuition to help 300,000 children who have fallen behind in English and in mathematics by 2010-11. Such support is being trialled in the 'Making Good Progress' pilot and
	a more intensive initiative specifically designed for early intervention in mathematics; a counterpart to the 'Every Child a Reader' literacy programme, on which we are already committed to nationwide roll-out.
	We are currently in the process of planning the scope and roll-out of the early intervention programme and we will make a more detailed announcement in due course. Delivery is expected to begin during 2008.

Females: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many girls from maintained schools were accepted to study  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biochemistry,  (d) psychology and  (e) sports science at (i) a Russell Group university and (ii) other universities in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many girls from maintained schools applied to study  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biochemistry,  (d) psychology and  (e) sports science at (i) a Russell Group university and (ii) other universities in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many girls from  (a) independent and  (b) grammar schools applied to study (i) physics, (ii) chemistry, (iii) biochemistry, (iv) psychology and (v) sports science at (A) a Russell Group university and (B) other universities in each of the last five years;
	(4)  how many girls from  (a) independent and  (b) grammar schools were accepted to study (i) physics, (ii) chemistry, (iii) biochemistry, (iv) psychology and (v) sports science at (A) a Russell Group university and (B) other universities in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The available information is shown in the following tables. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to Higher Education Institutions.
	
		
			  Acceptances from female UK domicil ed pupils to Russell Group and n on-Russell Group( 2)  institutions in the UK by subject of study and type of school( 3) 
			   Year of entry 
			  Type of school  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  All maintained( 4)  schools (including grammar schools)  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 230 218 177 232 224 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 153 145 111 136 136 
			 Total 383 363 288 368 360 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 444 403 409 454 513 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 519 503 486 493 524 
			 Total 963 906 895 947 7,037 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 435 393 374 401 337 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 295 308 335 372 369 
			 Total 730 701 709 773 706 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 1,435 1,338 1,333 1,363 1,396 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 5,375 5,996 5,988 6,746 6,675 
			 Total 6,870 7,334 7,321 8,109 8,071 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 38 70 72 58 55 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 1,813 1,952 2,042 2,412 2,419 
			 Total 1,851 2,022 2,114 2,470 2,474 
			   
			  Grammar schools  
			  Physics  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 41 49 31 39 44 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 18 23 9 13 10 
			 Total 59 72 40 52 54 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 58 56 62 73 72 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 36 40 33 40 41 
			 Total 94 96 95 113 113 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 61 40 47 52 41 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 27 27 36 24 22 
			 Total 88 67 83 76 63 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 235 185 222 231 207 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 314 383 382 445 357 
			 Total 549 568 604 676 564 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 1 7 9 11 8 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 52 76 83 94 67 
			 Total 53 83 92 105 75 
			   
			  Independent schools  
			  Physics  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 77 64 55 48 59 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 26 19 15 22 18 
			 Total 103 83 70 70 77 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 83 101 87 111 108 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 44 36 36 57 60 
			 Total 127 137 123 168 168 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 80 95 99 109 83 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 25 36 34 25 32 
			 Total 105 131 133 134 115 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 260 329 315 288 283 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 386 394 398 420 373 
			 Total 646 723 713 708 656 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 12 17 18 25 20 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 107 98 125 150 137 
			 Total 119 115 143 175 157 
		
	
	
		
			  Applications( 1)  from female UK domiciled pupils to Russell Group and non-Russell Group( 2)  institutions in the UK by subject of study and type of school( 3) 
			   Year of entry 
			  Type of school  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  All Maintained( 4)  schools (including grammar schools)  
			  Physics  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 1,358 1,333 1,068 1,292 1,384 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 1,071 1,057 785 1,019 916 
			 Total 2,429 2,390 1,853 2,377 2,300 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 2,278 2,149 2,202 2,519 2,920 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 3,245 2,983 3,167 2,831 2,879 
			 Total 5,523 5,732 5,369 5,350 5,799 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 2,707 2,459 2,388 2,353 2,166 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 2,132 2,014 2,226 2,285 2,123 
			 Total 4,839 4,473 4,614 4,638 4,289 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 12,505 13,500 12,455 12,455 12,014 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 32,351 36,437 35,564 39,761 39,204 
			 Total 44,856 49,937 48,019 52,276 57,278 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 288 494 553 572 511 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 10,010 11,274 11,389 12,723 13,313 
			 Total 70,298 11,768 11,942 73,295 73,824 
			   
			  Grammar schools  
			  Physics  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 231 283 193 235 253 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 147 186 98 125 112 
			 Total 378 469 297 360 365 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 362 367 367 440 473 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 210 257 279 284 275 
			 Total 572 624 646 724 748 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 421 319 354 297 271 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 177 166 199 160 173 
			 Total 598 485 553 457 444 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 1,455 1,569 1,546 1,688 1,374 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 2,348 2,443 2,411 2,751 2,371 
			 Total 3,803 4,012 3,957 4,439 3,745 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 9 39 54 52 29 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 348 481 515 549 470 
			 Total 357 520 569 607 499 
			   
			  Independent schools  
			  Physics  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 444 400 320 322 347 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 215 201 151 147 186 
			 Total 659 607 477 469 533 
			  Chemistry  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 509 545 487 623 653 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 269 315 310 334 337 
			 Total 778 860 797 957 990 
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 474 593 565 459 466 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 178 262 257 214 226 
			 Total 652 855 822 673 692 
			  Psychology  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 2,114 2,626 2,318 2,164 1,888 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 2,610 2,846 2,712 2,917 2,578 
			 Total 4,724 5,472 5,030 5,081 4,466 
			  Sports Science  
			 At Russell Group Institutions 45 84 99 138 116 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 701 634 825 936 824 
			 Total 746 718 924 1,074 940 
			 (1) Applicants to UCAS can submit up to six applications, in this table students have been counted once for each application they submit. (2 )Includes all other HE and FE institutions covered by the UCAS application system, other than Russell-Group institutions. (3 )Excludes a small amount of students with an unknown school type. (4 )Maintained sector institutions are comprehensive schools, further/higher education institutions, grammar schools, sixth form centres, sixth form colleges, other maintained institutions and other institutions. (5 )Subject figures for Biochemistry can only be displayed as the overall group Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry.  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

Foundation Degrees

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of employers involved in foundation degrees were in the public sector in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many students studied for such degrees with public sector employers in each year.

Bill Rammell: We do not classify foundation degrees as public or private sector because students are recorded according to subjects studied and many courses would apply to the public, private and third sectors. Foundation degrees graduates are, however, well-represented in education, and subjects allied to medicine (which together amount to around 35 per cent. of all FD graduates) where the employment opportunities are largely in the public sector, and around a third of all FD courses currently running are in the areas of education, health and care, community or public services.
	Employer involvement is an essential feature of all foundation degree programmes. Employers can be involved in the design, delivery and regular review of programmes. It is also expected that there will be recognition from employer bodies such as sector skills councils and professional bodies as well as close collaboration between employer and provider institutions—to ensure foundation degrees are responsive to meeting the nation's skill needs.

Foundation Degrees

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many foundation degrees were awarded in each employment sector in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The available information shows the number of Foundation Degrees awarded by subject area of study. The latest figures are shown in the table; comparable information for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
	
		
			  Number of students( 1)  awarded Foundation Degrees by subject area English Higher Education Institutions—Academic years 2002/03 to 2005/06 
			  Subject area  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 65 270 405 775 
			 Biological sciences 45 85 110 235 
			 Veterinary science 10 0 0 0 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 20 145 255 425 
			 Physical sciences 25 30 50 80 
			 Mathematical sciences 5 0 0 0 
			 Computer science 20 125 370 680 
			 Engineering and technology 140 250 400 525 
			 Architecture, building and planning 15 20 50 165 
			 Social studies 70 350 700 720 
			 Law 0 10 15 40 
			 Business and administrative studies 220 385 745 1,110 
			 Mass communications and documentation 35 85 150 230 
			 Languages 0 20 15 15 
			 Historical and philosophical studies 0 0 0 10 
			 Creative arts and design 285 640 980 1,480 
			 Education 110 445 1,385 2,325 
			 Combined 0 0 0 5 
			 Total foundation degree qualifiers 1,060 2,855 5,635 8,820 
			 (1) Covers students on full-time and part-time modes of study.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Free School Meals

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of children qualifying for free school meals had  (a) one parent,  (b) two parents and  (c) neither parent in paid work in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Free School Meals

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children selected by aptitude to attend  (a) city academies and  (b) specialist schools are in receipt of free school meals.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils in academies and specialist schools known to be eligible for free school meals.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and academies( 1) : number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals: As at January 2007 (Provisional): England 
			   Number of pupils on roll( 2)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2)  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 Maintained secondary schools 3,273,520 429,930 13.1 
			  of which:
			 Specialist schools 2,782,620 345,050 12.4 
			 Academies 40,810 13,610 33.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Includes pupils with sole and dual main registration.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census

Further Education: Student Wastage

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in further education in each of the regions failed to complete their course in the last 12 months; and how many of those were in the final year of their course.

Bill Rammell: Non-completion is not a standard measure used in further education (FE). The standard measure of success used in FE is the success rate, which refers to the proportion of qualifications achieved in each academic year against those who start working towards a particular learning aim. Learners who transfer to alternative provision during their programme of study are excluded from the calculation. The following table shows the regional success rates for 2002/03 to 2005/06—the latest full year for all FE funded courses.
	
		
			  FE success rates by region 
			  Percentage 
			  Region  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			 East Midlands 69 73 74 76 
			 East of England 67 70 72 75 
			 Greater London 64 67 73 77 
			 North East 68 72 76 77 
			 North West 68 72 75 76 
			 South East 70 73 74 76 
			 South West 68 73 75 76 
			 West Midlands 66 71 75 77 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 67 71 73 75 
			 England 67 71 74 76 
		
	
	The concept of learners on their final year of a course is also non-standard and is complex to derive and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Further Mathematics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students are studying further mathematics A or AS level via the further mathematics network in  (a) West Sussex and  (b) England.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold information on the subjects being studied by students at A level. However, data from examination awarding bodies show that 121 students aged 16-18 were entered for GCE A level further mathematics in West Sussex institutions in 2005/06. The number of entrants in England was 6,516. Equivalent figures for GCE AS level entries in further mathematics in 2005/06 were 60 in West Sussex and 4,078 in England. The data do not show how many of these were via the further mathematics network.

Further Mathematics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many students were entered for A level further mathematics examinations in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many students were entered for further mathematics A level in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The figures requested are in the following table.
	
		
			  Table 1: GCE A level entries in further mathematics by candidates aged 16-18 in all schools and colleges 
			  Academic year ending  Number of entries 
			 2006 6,516 
			 2005 5,192 
			 2004 5,111 
			 2003 4,730 
			 2002 4,498 
			 2001 5,063 
			 2000 5,015 
			 1999 5,145 
			 1998 5,211 
			 1997 4,999 
			 1996 4,913

GCE A Level: Gender

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) girls and  (b) boys in maintained schools were awarded (i) at least one A, (ii) at least two As and (iii) at least three As at A level in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (A) parliamentary constituency, (B) local education authority and (C) region.

Jim Knight: holding answer 18 June 2007
	The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

GCSE: Languages

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Shropshire were entered for a modern language at GCSE in each year from 2001 to 2006.

Jim Knight: The number of 15-year-olds entered for a modern language GCSE in Shropshire for each year from 2001 to 2006 is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of pupils entered for a modern foreign language in Shropshire 
			 2001 2549 
			 2002 2428 
			 2003 2553 
			 2004 2423 
			 2005 2170 
			 2006(1) (1)1821 
			 (1 )2006 data are based on amended Key Stage 4 data.

GCSE: Mandarin

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many students have taken GCSE Mandarin in each local authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many students obtained a grade C or above at GCSE level in Mandarin in each local authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: This information can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2007 to question 117654, on GCSEs, how many mainstream  (a) maintained and  (b) independent secondary schools fell within each percentage point in terms of the proportion of pupils who achieved (i) seven and (ii) nine or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics in 2006.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds attending  (a) independent mainstream schools and  (b) maintained mainstream schools achieved five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English, mathematics and science in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of pupils entered for a full GCSE in English, mathematics and science.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Head Teachers: Science

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of head teachers have a degree in a science subject.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.

Hearing Impaired: Sign Language

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many lip reading and sign language teachers are employed in Copeland.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

International GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has had with Cambridge International Examinations and Edexcel on the accreditation of the international GCSE; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: As regulators of the public examination system, it is QCA's role to make sure they have reliable, current and comprehensive information on the qualifications market in England. The chairman and chief executive of QCA met Cambridge Assessment's Group chief executive and discussed iGCSEs at a meeting on Tuesday, 13 March 2007.

Languages: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which foreign languages were studied by pupils in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex for (i) GCSE, (ii) A/S-Level and (iii) A-Level in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Maintained Schools: Qualifications

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools did not achieve five A*-G grades at GCSE in each year since 1997, broken down by gender;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools obtained A*-G grades at GCSE in each year since 1997, broken down by gender.

Jim Knight: This information is available in the Department's GCSE and Equivalent Statistical First Releases which have been placed in the House Library.

Nurseries: Fees and Charges

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in business rates on fee levels in  (a) private day nurseries,  (b) voluntary day nurseries,  (c) nurseries located in schools and  (d) Sure Start children's centres over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: No such assessment has been made. Costs and prices in the nursery sector are affected by a wide range of factors.
	Some nurseries may be eligible for rate relief to ease the impact of business rates and some voluntary providers, if they pay rates, may be exempt under Schedule 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Nurseries: Finance

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will take action to assist nurseries and childcare organisations which no longer receive funding from the National Nursery Initiative and are ineligible to become children's centres; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: 1,400 Neighbourhood Nurseries were set up under the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI) which ran from 2002 until 2007, in the most disadvantaged areas within local authorities. 774 of these will become children's centres by March 2008 while others will link to children's centres for delivery of childcare places. The remainder will continue to operate as stand alone nurseries.
	All NNs were required to develop a five-year business plan, demonstrating sustainability when Government funding ended.
	Any Neighbourhood Nursery experiencing difficulty when their Government funding comes to an end, should contact their local authority in the first instance. They can provide support for business planning and marketing and in some circumstances may be able to provide financial support to aid sustainability. From 2008, all local authorities will have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their areas and former Neighbourhood Nurseries will have a substantial part to play in that.

Nursery Schools: Codes of Practice

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what representations he has received on implementing the Code of Practice for Nursery Education in pilot areas; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects the Code of Practice for Nursery Education to be fully applied  (a) in pilot areas and  (b) across England.

Beverley Hughes: The 2006 Code of Practice on the provision of free nursery education places for three and four-year-olds came into force on 1 April 2006. The Code of Practice is statutory guidance that all local authorities, including Pathfinder local authorities delivering the extended free early education entitlement from April 2007, must have regard to when fulfilling their statutory duty to secure sufficient nursery education for children in their area.
	Officials meet regularly with representatives from the 20 Pathfinder local authorities. These meetings are opportunities to review progress and discuss emerging issues relating to the extension of the free entitlement to 15 hours.

Ofsted

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 124W, on Ofsted, how much Ofsted spent on legal advice on the drafting of the answer.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 19 June 2007:
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked, following our response of 4th June 2007, Official Report, column 124W, how much Ofsted spent on legal advice on the drafting of that answer.
	This information is not available as Ofsted obtains legal advice from an in-house Treasury Solicitors team on the basis of an overall monthly charge. Time is not recorded on a topic specific basis.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Ofsted: Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what remuneration is received by the Chair of the Ofsted Board for that role.

Jim Knight: Remuneration for the Chairman of the Ofsted Board is £40,000 per annum.

Personal, Social and Health Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the evidential basis was for the statement made by Ofsted in its report "Time for Change? Personal, Social and Health Education" that  (a) research suggests that education that promotes abstinence but withholds information about contraception can place young people at higher risk and  (b) school nurses provide a particularly valuable service in providing emergency hormonal contraception to pupils; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 13 June 2007:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked what the evidential basis was for the statements made by Ofsted in its report, "Time for Change? Personal, Social and Health Education (HMI 070049)", that (A) research suggests that education that promotes abstinence, but withholds information about contraception, can place young people at higher risk; and (B) school nurses are providing a valuable service by offering emergency hormonal contraception to pupils.
	Our report states that 'there is no evidence, however, that 'abstinence-only' education reduces teenage pregnancy or improves sexual health. There is also no evidence to support claims that teaching about contraception leads to increased sexual activity. Research suggests that education and strategies that promote abstinence but withhold information about contraception can place young people at a higher risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).' There has been widespread international research in this area, including three pieces of research completed by the National Children's Bureau:
	1. Blake, S and Frances, G (2001) Just Say No to Abstinence Education. London
	2. Abstinence-only Education, Sex Education Forum, briefing May 2004
	3. Swann, C., Bowe, K. MCCormick, G. and Kosmin, M. (2003) Teenage Pregnancy and parenthood: a review of reviews. Evidence briefing. London: Health development Agency. www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence
	We found this research persuasive because it reflected our discussions with pupils in 350 inspections who said they valued clear sex and relationship education in school.
	Our report states that 'school nurses can also provide a valuable service, particularly in terms of providing emergency hormonal contraception and advising on other forms of contraception'. This is in line with non-statutory guidance published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The DfES publication "Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps: Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies" (2006) sets out the key findings from 'deep dive' reviews carried out by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit to identify factors responsible for the significant variation in performance between local areas, including between areas that are statistically similar. The guidance states:
	'Provision of young people focused contraception/sexual health services, trusted by teenagers and well known by professionals working with them.' This was the factor most commonly cited as having the biggest impact on conception rate reductions in the high performing areas. Features of successful services reflected the "Best practice guidance on the provision of effective contraception and advice services for young people" issued by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit in 2000: easy accessibility in the right location with opening hours convenient to young people; provision of the full range of contraceptive methods, including long acting methods; a strong focus on sexual health promotion (as well as reactive services) through, for example, outreach work in schools, work with professionals to improve their ability to engage with young people on sexual health issues; and through highly visible publicity. Effective services also had a strong focus on meeting the specific needs of young men. All high-performing areas also had condom distribution schemes involving a wide range of local agencies and/or access to emergency contraception in non-clinical settings.
	Ofsted's own discussions with young people suggest they want and trust services in schools and welcome and recognise the commitment that schools show to meeting their wider health needs.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Pupil Exclusions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils had been permanently excluded more than once in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) ethnicity; and how many such pupils had special educational needs.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 June 2007
	 The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and all special schools, city technology colleges and academies( 1) : Pupils permanently excluded more than once by gender, ethnic group and special educational needs( 2) —2000/01 to 2004/05—England 
			   Number of pupils 
			  Gender  
			 Boys 1,220 
			 Girls 200 
			 Total 1,420 
			   
			  Ethnic group  
			 White 1,090 
			 White British 1,070 
			 Irish (3)— 
			 Traveller of Irish heritage (3)— 
			 Gypsy/Roma (3)— 
			 Any other White background 20 
			   
			 Mixed 70 
			 White and Black Caribbean 30 
			 White and Black African 10 
			 White and Asian 10 
			 Any other Mixed background 30 
			   
			 Asian 30 
			 Indian 10 
			 Pakistani 10 
			 Bangladeshi (3)— 
			 Any other Asian background (3)— 
			   
			 Black 80 
			 Black Caribbean 50 
			 Black African 10 
			 Any other Black background 20 
			   
			 Chinese 0 
			   
			 Any other ethnic group 10 
			   
			 Pupils whose ethnicity has been classified under the old ethnic coding framework 50 
			   
			 Unclassified 90 
			   
			 Total 1,420 
			   
			  Special educational needs  
			 No identified SEN provision 550 
			 SEN pupils without statements 580 
			 SEN pupils with statements 300 
			 Total 1,420 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (2) This analysis is based on incomplete pupil level data. Any findings based on these figures should be used with caution. Those pupils who have been permanently excluded from more than one different school since 2000/01 to 2004/05 have been selected. (3) Less than 5 pupils.  Notes: 1. Information presented here has been derived from an extract of the National Pupil Database which has selected pupils with multiple cases of permanent exclusion from different schools collected via the 2002 through to 2006 School Census'. The characteristic data shown relates to information provided for the pupils' most recent exclusion. 2. A new set of codes to record the ethnicity of pupils was introduced in 2002. Schools were initially permitted to report ethnic data using either the old and new set of codes between which there is no direct mapping. This analysis separately shows data for those pupils whose ethnic group has been classified under the old coding framework.  3. The new SEN code of practice came into force in 2002 and introduced new codes for recording stage of SEN. Both the new and old codes have been used here. 4. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source: National Pupil Database.

Pupil Referral Units

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many pupils ceased attendance at a pupil referral unit because they had been sentenced to a term in a young offender institution in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what information he has collected on the number of pupils placed in pupil referral units who are later  (a) sentenced to a term in a young offender institution and  (b) subject to an antisocial behaviour order.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 June 2007
	The Department does not collect this information.

Pupil Referral Units: Qualifications

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of pupils in pupil referral units did not obtain  (a) five A*-C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE,  (b) five A*-G grades at GCSE and  (c) any passes at GCSE in each year since 1997, broken down by ethnic group.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not held centrally.

Pupils: Eastern Region

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total recurrent funding per pupil was in real terms in  (a) Suffolk,  (b) Bedfordshire,  (c) Cambridgeshire,  (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and  (f) Norfolk in each year from 1998-99 to 2007-08.

Jim Knight: The revenue funding figures per pupil aged 3 to 19 for Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk for years 1998-99 to 2005-06 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Local  a uthority  1998- 99  1999- 00  2000- 01  2001- 02  2002- 03  2003- 04  2004- 05  2005- 06 
			 Bedfordshire 2,990 3,110 3,380 3,560 3,670 3,720 3,860 4,060 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,860 3,010 3,210 3,330 3,410 3,580 3,730 3,920 
			 Essex 3,080 3,190 3,420 3,580 3,680 3,770 3,920 4,080 
			 Hertfordshire 3,080 3,180 3,410 3,560 3,670 3,730 3,880 4,030 
			 Norfolk 2,980 3,110 3,340 3,500 3,600 3,680 3,830 4,020 
			 Suffolk 2,900 3,010 3,230 3,370 3,470 3,540 3,690 3,860 
			  Notes:  1. Price Base: Real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27.09.06  2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment / Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.  3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3 to 19 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.  4. The pupil numbers used to convert m figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3 year old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4 year olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.  5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 
		
	
	The revenue per pupil figures shown in the table below are taken from the new dedicated schools grant (DSG) and are in cash terms. They are not comparable with those for the years 1997-98 to 2005-06 because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The DSG is based largely on an authority's previous spending.
	The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department's time series as the two sets of data are not comparable. An alternative time series is currently under development.
	To provide figures for 2006-07 DSG, the Department has isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the DSG figures provided. The figures are for all funded pupils aged 3-15.
	
		
			  Local authority  2005-06 Baseline  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Bedfordshire 3,188 3,407 3,633 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,193 3,407 3,623 
			 Essex 3,300 3,524 3,752 
			 Hertfordshire 3,294 3,507 3,730 
			 Norfolk 3,208 3,423 3,648 
			 Suffolk 3,160 3,372 3,591 
			  Notes: 1. The revenue funding per pupil figures only run to 2005-06 because the Department cannot provide a consistent time series beyond that year as the introduction of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how Local Authorities are funded. The 1998-99 to 2005-06 figures are based on Education Formula Spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In 2006-07 funding for schools changed with the introduction of the DSG which is based largely on an authority's previous spending. 2. In addition, DSG has a different coverage to EFS: EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means that there is a break in the Department's time series as the two sets of data are not comparable, an alternative time series is currently under development. 3. To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, the Department has isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures.

Pupils: EC Enlargement

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children originally from EU accession states were enrolled in schools in  (a) Somerset and  (b) Taunton constituency in (i) 2002, (ii) 2004 and (iii) 2006.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not held centrally.
	Within the School Census (SC), schools are required to record ethnicity data that reflects the main categories used in the 2001 National Population Census. Children from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are recorded under the ethnic category 'Any Other White Background'.
	Following a consultation exercise in 2002, local authorities (LAs) were given the option of using extended ethnicity categories in their schools if they felt that the main ones did not meet their local management needs. However, the extended ethnicity categories do not include separate codes relating to the eight European Union accession countries. They are all included within the 'White Eastern European' code.
	Not all LAs have chosen to use the extended categories. The majority of authorities use a mixture of main and extended codes. As a consequence the Department does not hold complete data for the extended ethnic background categories.

Pupils: Languages

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children in  (a) Somerset and  (b) Taunton constituency have English as a second language; and what funding has been made available for individual schools in each area to support those children in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the following table.
	The revenue funding that local authorities allocate to their schools is a matter for local authorities to decide locally through their own local funding formulae (subject to satisfying the minimum funding guarantee for schools from 2004-05 onwards). According to their Section 52 Budget Statements, Somerset LA's local funding formula does not allocate any funding to schools via their individual school budget share specifically on the basis of having pupils for which English is a second language attending the school.
	However, local authorities do receive additional funding from the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG). EMAG is intended to help local authorities narrow achievement gaps for those minority ethnic groups who are underachieving and to meet particular needs of pupils for whom English is an additional language. It is distributed to local authorities by formula which includes the number of EAL pupils in each LA. For this year, Somerset LA will receive an EMAG totalling £37,585, with locally determined formulae devolving at least 85 per cent. of this to schools. The grant is worth £179 million nationally in 2007-08.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 2) , as at January each year 2003 to 2007(provisional) 
			   Somerset local authority area  Taunton parliamentary constituency  England( 4) 
			   Number of pupils( 2)  Number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English  Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 3)  Number of pupils( 2)  Number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English  Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 3)  Number of pupils( 2)  Number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English  Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English( 3) 
			 2003 64,968 407 0.6 13,444 93 0.7 6,779,930 657,300 9.7 
			 2004 65,416 473 0.7 13,493 110 0.8 6,752,670 669,480 9.9 
			 2005 65,103 600 0.9 13,468 136 1.0 6,711,420 694,470 10.3 
			 2006 64,366 830 1.3 13,265 197 1.5 6,655,620 734,550 11.0 
			 2007(5) 63,158 1,093 1.7 13,034 240 1.8 6,574,560 789,790 12.0 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Excludes dually registered pupils. (3 )The number of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (4 )Figures for England have been rounded to the nearest 10. (5 )Provisional figures.  Source: School Census

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was allocated per pupil to each local education authority in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the average education funding was per pupil in West Lancashire in each year since 1997, broken down by age group;
	(2)  what the level of funding was per pupil in West Lancashire constituency in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Jim Knight: The West Lancashire constituency falls within the local authority of Lancashire and the information supplied applies to all of Lancashire. The revenue funding figures per pupil aged three to 10, 11 to 15 and three to 19 for Lancashire for years 1997-98 to 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Primary ( 3  to 10-year-olds)  Secondary (11 to 15-year-olds)  Total ( 3  to 19-year olds) 
			 1997-98 2,340 3,250 2,860 
			 1998-99 2,460 3,320 2,930 
			 1999-2000 2,630 3,440 3,070 
			 2000-01 2,870 3,710 3,320 
			 2001-02 3,030 3,880 3,470 
			 2002-03 3,090 3,980 3,560 
			 2003-04 3,250 3,990 3,640 
			 2004-05 3,360 4,180 3,790 
			 2005-06 3,570 4,390 4,000 
			  Notes: 1. Price base: Real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27 September 2006. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged three to 19 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC. 4. Three-year-old maintained pupils and estimated three to four-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers. 5. Rounding—figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status—some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 7. 1997-98 figures for authorities subject to local government reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures. 
		
	
	The revenue per pupil figures shown in the following table are taken from the new dedicated schools grant (DSG) and are in cash terms. They are not comparable with those for the years 1997-98 to 2005-06 because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The DSG is based largely on an authority's previous spending.
	The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department's time series as the two sets of data are not comparable. An alternative time series is currently under development.
	To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, the Department have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures. As the DSG is just a mechanism for distributing funding there is not a primary/secondary split available.
	The figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 15 years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 DSG 2005-06 (Baseline) 3,317 
			 DSG 2006-07 3,536 
			 DSG 2007-08 3,765 
			  Notes: 1. The revenue funding per pupil figures only run to 2005-06 because we cannot provide a consistent time series beyond that year as the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In 2006-07 funding for schools changed with the introduction of the DSG which is based largely on an authority's previous spending. 2. In addition, DSG has a different coverage to EFS: EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means we have a break in our time series as the two sets of data are not comparable, an alternative time series is currently under development. 3. To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, we have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average education funding was per pupil, broken down by age group, in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West,  (c) England and  (d) the UK in each year since 1979.

Jim Knight: The revenue funding figures per pupil aged three to 10 and 11 to 15 for Cornwall, the South West and England for years 1997-98 to 2005-06 are provided in the tables below. Comparable figures are not available for 1979-80 to 1996-97. Figures are not available at UK level.
	
		
			  Primary (3 to 10-year-olds) 
			   Cornwall  South West  England 
			 1997-98 2,310 2,390 2,480 
			 1998-99 2,510 2,470 2,580 
			 1999-2000 2,680 2,620 2,750 
			 2000-01 2,900 2,830 2,990 
			 2001-02 3,070 2,970 3,160 
			 2002-03 3,130 3,030 3,250 
			 2003-04 3,300 3,200 3,450 
			 2004-05 3,370 3,280 3,550 
			 2005-06 3,570 3,480 3,770 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary (11 to 15-year-olds) 
			   Cornwall  South West  England 
			 1997-98 3,310 3,200 3,390 
			 1998-99 3,380 3,280 3,470 
			 1999-2000 3,490 3,390 3,610 
			 2000-01 3,740 3,650 3,900 
			 2001-02 3,900 3,800 4,110 
			 2002-03 4,000 3,880 4,210 
			 2003-04 3,950 3,950 4,280 
			 2004-05 4,120 4,110 4,450 
			 2005-06 4,300 4,290 4,640 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27 September 2006. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 3-10 and 11-15 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LA level. 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC three-year-old maintained pupils and estimated three to four-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 
		
	
	The figures shown in the following table are taken from the new Dedicated Schools Grant and are in cash terms. They are not comparable with those for the earlier years. The DSG is a mechanism for distributing funding and does not include a primary/secondary split. The figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 15. The Department will be announcing DSG figures for 2007-08 shortly.
	
		
			   2005-06 baseline  2006-07 
			 Cornwall 3,150 3,362 
			 South West 3,196 3,411 
			 England 3,411 3,643 
			  Notes: 1. The revenue funding per pupil figures only run to 2005-06 because it is not possible to provide a consistent time series beyond that year as the introduction of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In 2006-07 funding for schools changed with the introduction of the DSG which is based largely on an authority's previous spending. 2. The DSG has a different coverage to EFS: EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means we have a break in our time series as the two sets of data are not comparable, an alternative time series is currently under development. 3. To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, we have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures.

Pupils: Vocational Guidance

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the provision of careers advice for  (a) secondary school and  (b) post-16 pupils; what steps his Department takes to ensure that provision is met; and what requirement there is for such provision to be inspected.

Jim Knight: Under section 114 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the Secretary of State has the power to provide or secure the provision of services which he thinks will encourage, enable or assist (directly or indirectly) effective participation by young people in education or training. This power is discharged through the Connexions service who provide careers advice (among a wider range of services designed to improve levels of participation in education and training) to young people aged 13 to 19.
	Additionally, all maintained schools have a statutory duty to provide a planned programme of careers education from years 7 to 11. How schools deliver this requirement is up to the individual school, although the DfES provides a non-statutory framework as a guide. There are no statutory duties on providers of post-16 learning to provide a programme of careers education.
	From April 2008, local authorities will have responsibility for the provision of Connexions services.
	Connexions services are within the scope of annual performance assessments and joint area reviews of children's services, led by Ofsted.

Pupils: Vocational Guidance

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what records his Department has of the numbers of young people in secondary schools in England who accessed careers advisers in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: Personal advisers in the Connexions service provide information, advice and guidance to young people on a range of issues. Information on these interventions is collected centrally, but we do not collect information specifically relating to careers advice given in schools.

Qualifications: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many pupils obtained  (a) no,  (b) one,  (c) two,  (d) three and  (e) four GCSEs at grades A*-C in English in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each London borough in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many pupils obtained  (a) five,  (b) six,  (c) seven,  (d) eight and  (e) nine GCSEs at grades A* to C including English in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each London borough in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

Reading: Mentors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 508W, on reading: mentors, 
	(1)  whether it is part of the role of paid support staff acting as learning mentors in schools to provide intensive or one-to-one tuition in mathematics;
	(2)  what qualifications paid support staff acting as learning mentors in schools are required to have.

Jim Knight: Mentors can be used to offer specific support in mathematics as well as offering a wider role in supporting children as learners across a range of subjects. Support of a one-to-one type is more often undertaken by a teaching assistant who, working with the teacher, would identify the specific learning needs of the child. This one-to-one support is a mix of in-class support and out of class focused work.
	There are no specific qualifications that support staff acting as learning mentors in schools are required to have. It is for individual head teachers to assess and decide whether staff have the necessary skills and experience to carry out the role and whether they need to access the range of training and support opportunities that exist for support staff acting as mentors.

School Leaving: Qualifications

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils leaving school at 16 there were without  (a) five GCSEs at A-C,  (b) five GCSEs at A-E and  (c) GCSEs in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2005.

Jim Knight: The answer to parts  (a) and  (c) is given as follows:
	
		
			  Number of 15-year-old pupils( 1)  who did not achieve the above indicators in 2005 and 2006: 
			   2005  2006 
			 Number of 15-year-old pupils(1) 636,771 648,043 
			 Number of 15-year-old pupils(1) who did not achieve 5+ GCSEs at Grades A*-C 278,173 268,366 
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds pupils(1) who did not achieve 5+ GCSEs at Grades A*-C 43.7 41.4 
			 Number of 15-year-old pupils(1) who did not achieve any qualifications 23,196 20,398 
			 Percentage of 15-year old pupils(1) who did not achieve any qualifications 3.6 3.1 
			 (1) Aged 15 at the beginning of the academic year, i.e. 31 August  Source: School Achievement and Attainment Tables 
		
	
	The answer to part  (b) can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Schools: Admissions

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many appeals were lodged by parents against non-admission of their children to  (a) maintained primary schools and  (b) maintained secondary schools by Cambridgeshire local education authority in each of the last 10 years; and how many were successful.

Jim Knight: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Appeals lodged by parents against non-admission of their children to maintained primary and secondary schools: Position in each year 1996/97 to 2005/06: Cambridgeshire local authority 
			   1996/97( 1)  1997 / 98( 2)  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			  Primary   
			 Admission appeals lodged by parents 178 94 111 196 235 194 112 116 139 151 
			 Appeals heard by an appeals panel 142 77 99 143 181 147 77 88 102 116 
			 Appeals decided in parents' favour 83 59 71 79 108 93 36 63 52 65 
			
			  Secondary   
			 Admission appeals lodged by parents 335 164 266 366 269 287 265 182 206 223 
			 Appeals heard by an appeals panel 312 134 251 294 194 231 202 144 177 189 
			 Appeals decided in parents' favour 208 108 138 180 123 138 87 75 125 111 
			 (1 )Includes Peterborough local authority as before local government reorganisation (LGR). (2) From 1 April 1998 : It is expected that the majority of appeals for the 1997/98 academic year will have been lodged prior to April 1998. In some cases these figures are either included in the original authority totals or were not available.

Schools: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the total number of places in schools in each year to 2025;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of surplus places in schools in each year to 2025.

Jim Knight: The responsibility in law to plan school places is placed on local authorities. Local authorities are expected to take robust measures to remove surplus places and ensure that school places are where parents want them.
	The Department collects data on the number of school places and numbers of pupils on roll on a school by school basis, together with LA wide pupil projections via an annual survey. The Department does not collect projections of the capacity of schools or the numbers of school places from local authorities.

Schools: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of pupils in full-time education in each year to 2015.

Jim Knight: The Department's estimates for the number of pupils in full-time education in schools in England are shown as follows:
	
		
			  Projected numbers of pupils( 1)  in all schools 
			  Thousand 
			  As at January each year  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011 
			 All Maintained Schools(2) 7,383 7,300 7,208 7,157 7,076 
			 Non-Maintained Special Schools 5 5 4 4 4 
			 Academies(3) 45 80 134 162 220 
			 City Technology Colleges 11 5 3 3 3 
			 Independent Schools 566 564 561 559 556 
			 All schools 8,010 7,953 7,911 7,885 7,860 
			 (1) Full-time equivalents, counting each part-time pupil as 0.5. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand. (2) Pupil numbers in maintained schools includes those in nursery, primary, secondary (including pupils in sixth forms in secondary schools), maintained special schools and maintained Pupil Referral Units. (3) Projections are based on a target of 200 academies by 2011. 
		
	
	Projections are not shown beyond 2011 because of the increasing degree of uncertainty over time, particularly for post-compulsory schooling.

Schools: Census

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects the January 2007 schools census data to be published; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 June 2007
	Provisional data from the January 2007 census were published on 16 April 2007 in the Statistical First Release on the Department's website:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000726/index.shtml
	Final data will be published in September 2007. The Secretary of State is not expected to make a statement. Final data on special educational needs (also taken from the census) are published on 26 June.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from school for violent conduct in each local education authority in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information has been placed in the Library.
	The Department does not collect data on exclusions for violent conduct. We do have information on exclusions where the reason cited is 'physical assault against an adult' or 'physical assault against a pupil' and this is set out in tables which have been placed in the Library. Further information on reasons for exclusion is contained in SFR 24/2006.
	Only two years of data relating to the reason for exclusion are currently available. The first year for which information on the reason for exclusion is available relates to the 2003-04 academic year. Exclusions data for 2004-05 academic year were published in June 2006. Data for the 2005-06 academic year are scheduled for publication on 26 June, 2007.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many pupil-on-pupil assaults there have been in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each local education authority in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers and teaching assistants have been assaulted in the classroom more than once in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The number of incidents of assaults towards staff and pupils in schools is not collected centrally.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against a pupil' and 'physical assault against an adult'.
	The tables provide a breakdown of the number of pupils who have been excluded for a fixed period or permanently from maintained primary and secondary schools for physical assault against a pupil or an adult.
	Local authority level tables showing the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason have been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of fixed period exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an adult 2003/04 and 2004/05, England 
			   Maintained primary  Maintained secondary 
			   Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult  Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult 
			   Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2) 
			 2003/04 10,890 26.4 5,190 12.6 55,440 19.2 8,110 2.8 
			 2004/05 11,950 27.3 5,960 13.6 65,790 20.0 9,490 2.9 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Number of fixed period exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of fixed period exclusions.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number and percentage of permanent exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an adult( 2 ) 2003/04 and 2004/05, England 
			   Maintained primary  Maintained secondary 
			   Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult  Physical assault against a pupil  Physical assault against an adult 
			   Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			 2003/04 290 22.7 290 22.9 1,380 16.6 820 9.9 
			 2004/05 250 22.6 290 26.3 1,500 18.6 900 11.1 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) The distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey data and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the school census checking exercise. (3) Number of permanent exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of permanent exclusions.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census and Termly Exclusions Survey

Schools: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding streams local authorities receive to facilitate the  (a) expansion of existing schools and  (b) construction of new schools as a result of a planned increase in (i) population and (ii) housing supply.

Jim Knight: It is the DfES which provides capital support for local authorities and schools to invest in school infrastructure, including for new pupil places as a result of population and housing growth. Allocations are made over each spending review period, and local authorities and schools plan their investment according to local priorities.
	Allocations currently include capital support for new pupil places which takes account of local authority forecasts of pupil growth. Over the current spending review period this has been around £400 million per year. In addition, Building Schools for the Future plans take account of the future need for secondary age pupils; and the Primary Capital Programme from 2008-09 will also do this for primary pupils.
	Where there is a clear exceptional demand which cannot be met from existing resources, local authorities can apply to the 'Basic Need Safety Valve' for additional capital.

Schools: Immigrants

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will discuss future allocations of funding in respect of the English as an additional language excellence programme with Peterborough city council; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: It is a matter for each local authority—in consultation with their schools forums—to determine the level of funding between different providers and different programmes based on an assessment of local circumstances.

Schools: Middlesbrough

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school places in Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland were not filled in 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The latest available data we have on the number of unfilled school places relate to January 2006, when there were 1,042 unfilled primary school places and 179 unfilled secondary school places in Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

Schools: Playing Fields

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether there is an appeal process for his decision to grant consent for a school playing fields to be sold off.

Jim Knight: There is no formal right of appeal other than through the courts.

Schools: Sports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his plans to expand competitive sport in schools.

Jim Knight: This Government are committed to the expansion of competitive school sport. The PE National Curriculum requires that all pupils are taught competitive games throughout key stages one to three, and pupils may choose to pursue them in key stage four, if they wish. Competition is also a key component of the National School Sport Strategy. The 2005-06 school sport survey found that:
	71 per cent. of pupils are now participating in intra-school competitive activities and 37 per cent. of pupils are taking part in inter-school competition. Both figures have been rising year on year.
	97 per cent. of schools held a competitive sports day in the last academic year and the network of school sport partnerships staged over 10,700 festivals of sport—multi-sport events organised by secondary pupils for partnership primary schools.
	In addition, the introduction of a national network of Competition Managers, and events like the UK School Games, are building a stronger framework for competitive sport.

Schools: Sports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what representations he received from  (a) hon. and right hon. Members,  (b) schools,  (c) teachers,  (d) parents and  (e) others on the funding position of the Panathlon Challenge in each of the last two years;
	(2)  what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effectiveness of the Panathlon Challenge in increasing the involvement of school children in competitive sport; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy to offer the Panathlon Challenge further financial support.

Jim Knight: No such research has been commissioned. In the last two years, the Department has received one representation from a Member of Parliament and one from a teacher.
	The Department provided the Panathlon Challenge with £850,000 of seed corn funding between 2003 and 2006 to support competitive sport in schools. It was made explicit that the funding was time limited and would not be extended beyond March 2006. Continued funding would divert resources away from direct investment in competitive sport in schools through the National School Sport Strategy.

Science: Higher Education

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many pupils from maintained schools were accepted to study  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biochemistry,  (d) psychology and  (e) sports science at (i) a Russell Group university and (ii) other universities in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many pupils from  (a) grammar schools,  (b) independent schools and  (c) maintained schools with more than 14 per cent. pupils eligible for free school meals (i) applied and (ii) were accepted to study (A) physics, (B) chemistry, (C) biochemistry, (D) psychology and (E) sports science at (1) a Russell Group university and (2) other universities in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The available information is shown in the tables. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to higher education institutions.
	UCAS do not hold details of the level of free school meal eligibility at each school.
	
		
			  Applications( 1 ) from UK domiciled pupils to Russell Group and non-Russell Group( 2)  institutions in the UK by subject of study and type of school( 3) , year of entry 2002-06 
			   Year of entry 
			  Type of school  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  All Maintained( 4 ) Schools ( i ncluding Grammar Schools)  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 7,096 7,069 6,439 7,028 7,664 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 5,746 5,929 5,024 5,765 5,681 
			 Total 12,842 12,998 11,463 12,793 13,345 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 5,621 5,641 5,762 7,149 7,813 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 7,302 6,898 7,361 7,153 7,353 
			 Total 12,923 12,539 13,123 14,302 15,166 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 4,823 4,711 4,465 4,658 4,109 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 3,758 3,810 3,987 4,197 4,039 
			 Total 8,581 8,521 8,452 8,855 8,148 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 15,392 16,641 15,535 15,540 14,937 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 39,898 45,181 44,170 49,562 48,490 
			 Total 55,290 61,822 59,705 65,102 63,427 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 843 1,441 1,404 1,497 1,434 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 29,795 32,367 32,542 36,174 39,626 
			 Total 30,638 33,808 33,946 37,671 41,060 
			   
			  Grammar Schools  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 888 978 847 919 1,013 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 457 548 434 505 459 
			 Total 1,345 1,526 1,281 1,424 1,472 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 683 785 708 971 1,066 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 415 501 499 556 622 
			 Total 1,098 1,286 1,207 1,527 1,688 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 798 603 701 611 527 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 310 273 365 321 312 
			 Total 1,108 876 1,066 932 839 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,900 2,057 1,978 2,189 1,764 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 3,030 3,172 3,038 3,566 3,017 
			 Total 4,930 5,229 5,016 5,755 4,781 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 50 83 130 119 106 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 989 1,306 1,482 1,578 1,521 
			 Total 1,039 1,389 1,612 1,697 1,627 
			   
			  Independent Schools  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,558 1,607 1,449 1,408 1,439 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 698 882 719 708 703 
			 Total 2,256 2,489 2,168 2,116 2,142 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,452 1,365 1,345 1,557 1,651 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 727 748 817 834 871 
			 Total 2,179 2,113 2,162 2,391 2,522 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,100 1,180 1,166 1,149 1,050 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 428 528 535 476 488 
			 Total 1,528 1,708 1,701 1,625 1,538 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 2,984 3,480 3,242 2,891 2,461 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 3,582 3,934 3,899 3,929 3,461 
			 Total 6,566 7,414 7,141 6,820 5,922 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 130 192 252 299 268 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 2,148 2,113 2,449 2,576 2,353 
			 Total 2,278 2,305 2,701 2,875 2,621 
		
	
	
		
			  Acceptances from UK domiciled pupils to Russell Group and non-Russell Group( 2)  institutions in the UK by subject of study and type of school( 3) , year of entry 2002-06 
			   Year of entry 
			  Type of school  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  All Maintained( 4 ) Schools ( i ncluding Grammar Schools)  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,272 1,238 1,130 1,221 1,283 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 868 842 749 829 865 
			 Total 2,140 2,080 1,879 2,050 2,148 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,061 998 1,048 1,272 1,315 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 1,148 1,130 1,157 1,229 1,301 
			 Total 2,209 2,128 2,205 2,501 2,616 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 776 721 682 787 625 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 512 579 605 683 681 
			 Total 1,288 1,300 1,287 1,470 1,306 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 1,717 1,599 1,596 1,655 1,679 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 6,533 7,339 7,291 8,249 8,206 
			 Total 8,250 8,938 8,887 9,904 9,885 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 112 148 171 164 140 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 5,172 5,605 5,746 6,715 7,065 
			 Total 5,284 5,753 5,917 6,879 7,205 
			   
			  Grammar Schools  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 176 184 149 154 185 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 53 68 56 72 49 
			 Total 229 252 205 226 234 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 122 124 114 166 167 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 64 76 66 86 92 
			 Total 186 200 180 252 259 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 122 84 96 101 76 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 44 40 56 47 41 
			 Total 166 124 152 148 117 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 289 230 276 291 252 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 403 497 464 565 458 
			 Total 692 727 740 856 710 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 9 9 25 17 15 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 152 212 223 247 222 
			 Total 161 221 248 264 237 
			   
			  Independent Schools  
			  Physics  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 253 250 250 219 242 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 88 112 88 100 79 
			 Total 341 362 338 319 321 
			   
			  Chemistry  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 263 252 239 290 286 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 93 100 116 120 147 
			 Total 356 352 355 410 433 
			   
			  Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry( 5)  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 190 190 199 221 178 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 48 72 71 56 66 
			 Total 238 262 270 277 244 
			   
			  Psychology  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 359 422 427 392 357 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 540 541 556 556 490 
			 Total 899 963 983 948 847 
			   
			  Sports Science  
			 at Russell Group Institutions 29 35 33 50 37 
			 Non-Russell Group Institutions(2) 323 327 356 389 391 
			 Total 352 362 389 439 428 
			 (1) Applicants to UCAS can submit up to six applications, in this table students have been counted once for each application they submit. (2 )Includes all other HE and FE institutions covered by the UCAS application system, other than Russell-Group institutions. (3 )Excludes a small amount of students with an unknown school type. (4 )Maintained sector institutions are comprehensive schools, further/higher education institutions, grammar schools, sixth form centres, sixth form colleges, other maintained institutions and other institutions. (5 )Subject figures for Biochemistry can only be displayed as the overall group Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biochemistry.  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

Student Numbers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time students were studying on recognised courses at level (i) 2, (ii) 3 and (iii) 4 in (A) further education colleges, (B) universities and (C) institutions of higher education in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: Figures for those participating in further education (FE) can be derived from the individualised learner record (ILR). The FE ILR was collated for the first time in 2002/03 and figures are presented from that time.
	
		
			  Learners on LSC-funded FE provision analysed by highest qualification level and mode of attendance 
			  Thousand 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Total 
			  2002/03
			 Level 1 and entry 170.7 1,407.7 1,578.3 
			 Level 2 211.8 815.4 1,027.1 
			 Level 3 438.7 426.7 865.4 
			 Level 4, 5 and HE 12 57.3 69.3 
			 Level not specified 94.7 562.4 657.1 
			 Total 927.8 3,269.5 4,197.3 
			 
			  2003/04
			 Level 1 and entry, 186.1 1,450.6 1,636.7 
			 Level 2 213.1 843.4 1,056.5 
			 Level 3 439.9 403 842.9 
			 Level 4, 5 and HE 10.2 63.8 74 
			 Level not specified 87.9 457.3 545.2 
			 Total 937.2 3,218.1 4,155.3 
			 
			  2004/05
			 Level 1 and entry 180.4 1,433.6 1,614.0 
			 Level 2 218.7 941.1 1,159.8 
			 Level 3 452.5 404.3 856.8 
			 Level 4, 5 and HE 8.6 62.8 71.4 
			 Level not specified 77.7 418.5 496.2 
			 Total 937.8 3,260.3 4,198.1 
			 
			  2005/06
			 Level 1 and entry 179.4 1,142.4 1,321.8 
			 Level 2 226.1 887.1 1,113.2 
			 Level 3 460.2 349.8 810 
			 Level 4, 5 and HE 6.7 60.3 67.1 
			 Level not specified 42.4 274.3 316.7 
			 Total 914.8 2,714.0 3,628.7 
			  Note: Figures are whole year learner numbers relating to the end of the relevant academic year.  Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) 
		
	
	Data on students enrolled on level 2 and level 3 courses at universities and institutions of higher education cannot be identified separately; therefore figures have been provided for level 2 and level 3 combined, in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of UK domiciled students enrolled on courses( 1)  at Level 2, 3 and 4 in universities, by mode of study  English institutions—Academic years 1997/98 to 2005/06 
			   Level 2 and 3  Level 4 
			  Academic year  Full-time  Part-time  Total  Full-time  Part-time  Total 
			 1997/98 3,950 19,715 23,665 632,615 313,775 946,390 
			 1998/99 4,600 19,290 23,890 642,450 326,305 968,755 
			 1999/2000 6,550 34,140 40,690 638,945 331,785 970,730 
			 2000/01 6,765 35,590 42,355 645,250 354,480 999,730 
			 2001/02 14,175 28,470 42,645 670,660 366,755 1,037,415 
			 2002/03 6,515 29,545 36,065 692,750 390,570 1,083,320 
			 2003/04 9,065 35,700 44,770 717,400 423,470 1,140,870 
			 2004/05 14,505 39,110 53,615 762,615 453,670 1,216,285 
			 2005/06 9,110 33,720 42,830 787,420 438,655 1,226,075 
			 (1 )Covers students enrolled on any course at level 2, 3 or 4.  Notes: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 of December and have been rounded to the nearest 5; therefore components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of UK domiciled students Enrolled on Courses( 1)  at Level 2, 3 and 4 in institutions of higher education( 2) , by Mode of Study  English Institutions—Academic years 1997/98 to 2005/06 
			   Level 2 and 3  Level 4 
			  Academic year  Full-time  Part-time  Total  Full-time  Part-time  Total 
			 1997/98 5,985 6,220 12,205 94,465 23,265 117,730 
			 1998/99 5,710 6,725 12,435 93,745 25,030 118,775 
			 1999/2000 5,605 6,900 12,505 93,585 26,515 120,095 
			 2000/01 5,650 8,160 13,805 93,630 26,490 120,120 
			 2001/02 6,075 11,235 17,310 90,130 25,475 115,605 
			 2002/03 8,740 17,885 26,630 95,940 29,130 125,070 
			 2003/04 6,510 9,825 16,340 92,135 31,250 123,385 
			 2004/05(3) 7,335 9,595 16,935 61,030 18,755 79,785(3) 
			 2005/06 9,140 14,395 23,535 62,655 16,820 79,480 
			 (1 )Covers students enrolled on any course at level 2, 3 or 4. (2) Excludes universities. (3)( )In 2004/05 several Institutions of higher education became universities, thus explaining the drop in numbers.  Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 of December and have been rounded to the nearest 5; therefore components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Students: Loans

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will commission a study of the average number of years a graduate has to work to pay off student debt, basing the calculation on the additional earning power of their degree over the salary of a non-graduate.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 18 June 2007
	Graduates earn considerably more than non-graduates. Over their working life, the average graduate will earn comfortably over £100,000 more in today's valuation, than a similar individual who just had A-levels. The benefits of a degree are not just financial: holders of HE qualifications are about half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates and graduates tend to live longer and be healthier than non-graduates.
	The repayments on student loans vary according to the income of the individual borrower. Based on projected lifetime earnings for all graduates, the average time taken by individuals entering HE in 2006/07 who will fully repay their student loans is estimated to be around 13 years.

Sure Start Programme: Health Visitors

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he gives local authorities on the involvement of health visitors in the provision of services for children and families in Sure Start centres; and what assessment he has made of the nature and extent of that involvement.

Beverley Hughes: The Government's planning and practice guidance for local authorities and the health service says that in the most disadvantaged areas we expect to see health visitors ideally working from Sure Start children's centres, or at least having strong links with centres.
	The health-led parenting support project has been established in 10 areas to test an intensive home visiting programme for young, vulnerable first-time mothers. Visits are carried by health visitors and midwives linked to children's centres.
	We do not collect information at national level on the nature and extent of services provided in every children's centre. We have however asked our delivery contractors Together for Children to ensure that LAs and local health partners are working together to plan and deliver children's centres. TfC are also collecting evidence of good practice to share and disseminate with LAs and the health service.

Teachers: Citizenship

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in the training of specialist teachers of citizenship.

Jim Knight: Since the introduction of citizenship education in 2002, over 800 teachers have completed Initial Teacher Training courses to become specialist citizenship teachers. In addition, places are available to train up to 1,200 existing teachers on the Citizenship Continuing Professional Development programme over the next two years which will allow citizenship teachers to broaden and deepen their subject knowledge.

Teachers: Pay

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teacher's wage was in the last 12 months in West Lancashire constituency.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available at constituency level.
	In March 2005 the provisional average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers employed in Lancashire local authority maintained schools was £31,670 in nursery and primary and £33,360 in secondary schools. This information is from the Database of Teachers Records which is maintained primarily for pensions administration purposes and is the latest available.

Teachers: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the  (a) number and  (b) percentage of (i) physics, (ii) chemistry and (iii) biology teachers holding a degree from a Russell Group university, broken down by age group.

Jim Knight: This information requested is not collected centrally.
	The following table shows the number of mainstream science initial teacher training (ITT) trainees who gained qualified teacher status (QTS) in academic year 2004-05 and are known to be in a teaching post six months after they gained their QTS. It also shows the number of these science trainees who completed their training in Russell Group universities and the proportion of all newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in science in 2004-05 that completed their training in a Russell Group university.
	
		
			  Number of final year science ITT trainees from Russell Group universities in 2004-05 known to be in teaching posts six months after gaining qualified teacher status (QTS) 
			  Age of final year trainees  Science NQTs known to be in a teaching post six months after gaining QTS  Science NQTs from Russell group universities known to be in a teaching post six months after gaining QTS  Percentage of all science NQTs known to be in teaching posts  six  months after gaining QTS who are from Russell Group universities 
			 Under 25 830 280 33 
			 25-34 750 190 25 
			 35 and over 280 50 18 
			 Total 1,860 520 28 
			  Notes:  1. Those in teaching post include those in the maintained sector and non-maintained sector as well as those where the sector is unknown.  2. Figures include those qualifying from secondary science courses and key stage 2/3 courses.  3 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  4. Russell group universities include, University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, Kings College London, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University of Sheffield, University of Southampton and University of Warwick.  5. Science figures are for Mainstream ITT trainees and includes those trained though SCITTs, but excludes completers through employment based routes.  6. In addition to those known to be in employment there are an additional 230 science NQTs with unknown destinations across all ages, 50 of these NQTs are from Russell Group Universities. There were also 60 science NQTs who were seeking teaching posts six months after gaining QTS, of which 28 per cent. trained in Russell group universities.   Source:  TDA Performance Profiles 
		
	
	The break down of science courses in to the individual specialism is not available.

Teachers: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biology teachers who qualified in each year since 1990 who are teaching in 2006-07 in (i) independent schools, (ii) maintained schools, (iii) grammar schools and (iv) city technology colleges and academies.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Teachers: Termination of Employment

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the number of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who left the profession within three years of obtaining NQT status in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of teachers who had left service from the maintained sector in England by March in each of the last five years for which information is available having entered full or part-time regular service three years previously and having qualified during the year prior to that. This is the latest information available. It is not known how many of these teachers have left the teaching profession permanently and it is difficult to determine the number of those who have subsequently returned to service.
	
		
			  Full and part-time( 1)  teachers entering maintained sector service in England the year after attaining qualified teacher status who were no longer in such service three years later( 2 ) by year 
			  Year of qualification  No longer in service by March  Number of NQTs 
			 1997 2001 3,880 
			 1998 2002 3,640 
			 1999 2003 3,860 
			 2000 (3)2004 3,530 
			 2001 (3)2005 3,520 
			 (1) Part-time service may be under-recorded by between 10 and 20 per cent. and therefore these figures may be slightly underestimated. (2) For example teachers qualifying in calendar year 1997 who have been recorded as in service in March 1998 and out of service in March 2001. Teachers may have returned to service since the date where they are shown as no longer in service or may have moved to teaching service outside of the English maintained sector. (3) Provisional estimates.  Source: Database of Teacher Records.

Teachers: Training

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take to secure recognition of employment-based teacher training programmes in countries outside the European economic area.

Jim Knight: It is not in our gift to secure recognition of employment based teacher training programmes in countries outside the European economic area. However in the light of a range of inquiries from teachers seeking to work in Commonwealth countries, I will be sending a letter to Commonwealth Education Ministers underlining the fact that, irrespective of the route by which teachers are trained—whether undergraduate, post-graduate or school-based—qualified teacher status is conferred only on the basis of rigorous assessment against an agreed set of professional standards.

Teaching Methods

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage place-based learning.

Phil Hope: There are two major areas of workplace training supported by Government to achieve an increase of employer engagement in training. Firstly, the number of young people participating in apprenticeships is at a record level with more than a quarter of a million now in learning involving 130,000 employers across 80 sectors. Secondly, from August 2006, "Train to Gain" was rolled out nationally. It is a new service to help businesses get the training they need to succeed including offering free training for low skilled employees. It offers employers impartial advice and easy access to quality training, matching training needs with training providers and ensuring that training is delivered to meet employers' needs. In its first year it has engaged more than 40,000 employers and over 150,000 learners in learning.
	Both these approaches follow a structured training programme leading to qualifications with learning in the workplace being a key factor.
	To encourage further training, the Government launched the "Skills Pledge" on 14 June. The Skills Pledge—open to all employers—is a voluntary public commitment by the leadership of an organisation to ensure that all staff are skilled, competent and able to make a full contribution to the success of that organisation.

Teaching Methods: Bedfordshire

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when Stratton Upper School and Community College in Bedfordshire adopted the Students As Learning Partners scheme at Key Stage 4; what results were achieved in  (a) English,  (b) mathematics and  (c) other GCSEs in (i) the year before this approach was adopted and (ii) each year since this approach was adopted.

Jim Knight: Stratton Upper School adopted the Students As Learning Partners Scheme in the summer of 2003. The information requested for the years 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However indicators on the percentage of pupils to achieve five or more A*-C at GCSE including English and Maths GCSE, and the percentage to achieve five or more A*-C at GCSE for the years 2003 to 2006 can be found in the House Libraries in the Secondary School (GCSE and equivalent) Achievement and Attainment Tables 2006.

Thomas Telford School: Admissions

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with Thomas Telford school in Shropshire on its admissions policy.

Jim Knight: Discussions are taking place with Thomas Telford school to amend its Funding Agreement to reflect a change in its post 16 admission arrangements. The Department has agreed to an increase in post 16 student numbers at Thomas Telford school to provide post 16 education for 100 Madeley academy students as part of Madeley Court school's conversion to an academy.
	No discussions have taken place about admissions to year 7 in September.

Training

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many companies have signed a Skills Pledge; how many employees these companies employ; how many employees these companies expect to participate in the Skills Pledge's aim of obtaining a first level 2 qualification; and what proportion of these companies and employees are in the  (a) public and  (b) voluntary sector;
	(2)  what proportion of private sector companies which have signed the Skills Pledge work with Government agencies in a contractual relationship; and how many employees these companies have.

Phil Hope: On 14 June 157 employers made the Skills Pledge, which was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Sir Digby Jones, the UK Skills Envoy. Thus far more than 1.7 million employees, of which around 1.1 million are public sector and over a 1,000 from the third sector, are covered by the commitment of these employers.
	It is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown of the proportion of employees who will undertake their first full level 2 as each company will be working with the Learning and Skills Council to understand their skills gap and how best to meet that need. We expect that for some companies the gap may translate into higher level skills, as well as supporting those employees to gain basics skills, such as literacy and numeracy. All of these companies have access to the advice and guidance of independent skills brokers, should they need one. For companies with more than 5,000 employees they receive a similar service through the National Employer Service.
	Information on which of these companies hold a contract with Government agencies is not held centrally.

Truancy

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were persistent truants in schools with  (a) fewer than 1,000 pupils,  (b) 1,000 to 1,500 pupils and  (c) more than 1,500 pupils in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion this represented of all pupils in each category.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 June 2007
	The Department does not maintain records of 'truancy', as authorised absence rates include lateness and unauthorised holidays during term time.
	Information relating to persistent absentees by size of school is given in the table. Persistent absentee pupils are absent (authorised and unauthorised) for 20 per cent. of schooling.
	The first year for which information on persistent absentees is available relates to 2005/06 and covers only maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies. For the 2006/07 school year this information will also be available for maintained primary schools and special schools. This is expected to be available in February 2008.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies( 1) : number and percentage of persistent absentees by size of school( 2) ,  2005/06 , England 
			   Schools by size 
			   Fewer than 1,000 pupils  1,000 to 1,500 pupils  More than 1,500 pupils  Total 
			  Maintained secondary s chools 
			 Number of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees(3,)( )(4) 91,330 97,640 26,130 215,100 
			 Total number of pupil enrolments(4) 1,233,280 1,390,630 400,830 3,024,730 
			 Percentage of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees 7.4 7.0 6.5 7.1 
			  
			  City technology c olleges 
			 Number of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees(3,)( )(4) x 290 10 300 
			 Total number of pupil enrolments(4) 260 8,120 1,190 9,560 
			 Percentage of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees 1.2 3.5 0.6 3.1 
			  
			  Academies 
			 Number of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees(3,)( )(4) 800 1,130 70 1,990 
			 Total number of pupil enrolments(4) 8,510 12,150 1,380 22,040 
			 Percentage of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees 9.3 9.3 4.9 9.0 
			  
			  Total 
			 Number of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees(3,)( )(4) 92,130 99,060 26,200 217,390 
			 Total number of pupil enrolments(4) 1,242,040 1,410,900 403,390 3,056,330 
			 Percentage of pupil enrolments that are persistent absentees 7.4 7.0 6.5 7.1 
			 x = Less than five enrolments. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Persistent absentees are defined as having more than 63 sessions of absence (authorised and unauthorised) during the year. (3) Number of pupil enrolments in schools between 1 September 2005 and 27 May 2006. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between five and 15. Excludes boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved school during the school year or are registered at more than one school). (4) There were some 7,240 cases from maintained secondary schools; 20 cases from CTCs and 370 cases from academies for whom absence data were missing. These cases have been excluded from the total number of pupil enrolments.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Vocational Training

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many individuals in each region are undertaking training as part of the Train to Gain scheme in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: holding answer 14 June 2007
	Train to Gain is an ongoing service and as such performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC); Mark Haysom as the LSC chief executive has written directly to my hon. Friend and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Rob Wye dated, 21 June 2007:
	I am writing in response to your recent parliamentary question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, about how many individuals in each region are undertaking training as part of the Train to Gain scheme in 2007-08. I am writing on behalf of Mark Haysom as he is on annual leave.
	In the period April 2006 - March 2007, the regional breakdown of Train to Gain learners was as follows
	
		
			   Number 
			 East of England 9,500 
			 East Midlands 10,440 
			 London 8,340 
			 North East 10,690 
			 North West 21,990 
			 South East 11,640 
			 Southwest 9,120 
			 West Midlands 17,510 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 16,370

Vocational Training

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many qualifications have been awarded under Train to Gain, broken down by  (a) sector and  (b) (i) level and (ii) year awarded.

Phil Hope: The Train to Gain programme commenced in select regions from April 2006. A full rollout of Train to Gain commenced from August 2006.
	To date 38,760 learners have succeeded in gaining their qualifications:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Skills for Life achievements 3,920 
			 Level 2 achievements 32,800 
			 Level 3 achievements. 2,040 
			  Source: LSC Management Information 
		
	
	The LSC is planning to report on Train to Gain success rates, including sector breakdowns, in the 2006-07 learner outcomes statistical first release: Further education and work-based learning for young people—learner outcomes in England, which is expected to be published in April 2008.

West Jesmond School: Newcastle

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what advice he has received from the Highways Agency on the proposed temporary relocation of West Jesmond Primary School to the Castle Dene site in the Dene ward of Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend Parliamentary constituency;
	(2)  what information he has received from Newcastle City Council about the proposed temporary relocation of West Jesmond Primary School to the Castle Dene site in the Dene ward of Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend Parliamentary constituency.

Jim Knight: The Department normally allocates capital funding to local authorities, and relies on them to determine how this should be used. Decisions on relocation and reorganisation of the school estate are also made locally, and the Department does not generally receive information on such changes. However, exceptionally Newcastle local authority have been granted additional funding for this off-site decant (£900k), by the Department, after presenting a case based on health and safety concerns. This school is to be rebuilt as part of the 'Building Schools for the Future' Programme. I understand, from an update report published by Newcastle city council, that this decant will take place over Christmas 2007. I have received no information from the Highways Agency.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Central Office of Information: Contracts

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of the 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 590W, on the Central Office of Information (CoI): contracts, if she will list the contracts awarded by the CoI to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO since 1997; and what the value of each contract was.

Hilary Armstrong: holding answer 12 June 2007
	The contracts awarded to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO since 1997 are shown in the following list. Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Contracts
	 Campaign
	Speed reduction
	Welsh Speed Reduction
	English Heritage
	Speed Reduction
	Climate Change
	Mobile Phone Abuse
	Kill Your Speed
	Rear Seat Belts
	Welsh Rear Seat Belts
	Greener Motoring
	Climate Change
	Welsh Rear Seat Belts
	Greener Motoring
	Climate Change
	Welsh Speed Reduction
	Drink Drive
	Are You Doing Your Bit
	Rear Seat Belts
	Y2K Public Awareness
	Leaded Petrol
	Millennium Drink Drive
	Summer Drink Drive
	Welsh Drink Drive
	Y2K Public Awareness
	Anti Smoking
	Mobile Phones
	Think
	Anti Smoking
	Welsh Think
	Are You Doing Your Bit
	Kill Your Speed
	Are You Doing Your Bit (Wales)
	Welsh Think
	Pregnancy and Smoking
	Science Year
	Local Website Information
	Science Year
	Think
	Tobacco Education
	Think (new terms)
	Tobacco Education (new terms)
	Info 4 Local
	National Assembly for Wales Youth Anti Smoking
	National Assembly for Wales
	National Assembly for Wales—2 (new terms)
	Pregnancy and Smoking (new terms)
	Think
	Welsh Assembly Government Think
	Are You Doing Your Bit
	Tobacco Information
	Pregnancy and Smoking
	National Assembly for Wales Anti Smoking
	Welsh Assembly Government Anti Smoking
	Tobacco Information
	Welsh Assembly Government Anti Smoking
	Tobacco Information
	RAF Recruitment
	Tobacco Second Hand Smoke
	Tobacco Education—Cessation
	Tobacco Education—Support
	Smoking—Motivations that Matter
	The total amount of fees paid to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO since 1997 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total fees paid (£) 
			 1997-98 447,776 
			 1998-99 550,632 
			 1999-2000 1,445,695 
			 2000-01 1,540,870 
			 2001-02 1,775,134 
			 2002-03 903,873 
			 2003-04 1,204,042 
			 2004-05 1,360,997 
			 2005-06 1,359,547 
			 2006-07 248,883

Departments: Aviation

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by  (a) civil servants and  (b) Ministers in her Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost of such flights was.

Hilary Armstrong: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the "Civil Service Management Code", the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers".

Departments: Energy

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many energy saving lightbulbs were purchased by her Department for use on the departmental estate in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Hilary Armstrong: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Official Visits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister without Portfolio which destinations she visited in an official capacity between 17 May and 17 June.

Hazel Blears: On Friday 25 May, I visited St. John's Church of England Primary School in Croydon to participate in "The Big Stand", an event organised by the charity "Beatbullying".

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what  (a) services and  (b) products her Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office has not procured any services or products from Remploy in the last 12 months.

Peninsula Business Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what payments  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have made to Peninsula Business Services since May 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office has not made any payments to Peninsula Business Services since May 1997.

Voluntary Organisations: Public Service

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the use of third sector organisations to undertake public functions.

Edward Miliband: In December, 2006, the Government published "Partnership in Public Services: An action plan for third sector involvement". The plan notes that third sector organisations are particularly effective in delivering services where the high levels of public trust, confidence and affection they enjoy are most important. From enabling patient self-care to engaging parents in their children's education, third sector organisations' strengths often lie in developing services that empower people and which are tailored to their needs. In addition, third sector organisations play a highly effective role as a catalyst for service improvement. However, the plan also notes that there is variation in the performance of different organisations across all sectors and that opportunities should be open to all without bias to one sector.

Voluntary Work

Ann Keen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of  (a) volunteer week in raising awareness of the role volunteers play in local communities and  (b) measures taken by local authorities to harness third sector public service provision.

Edward Miliband: Volunteers' week (1-7 June) is the UK's annual celebration of the work volunteers do and is co-ordinated by Volunteering England (VE). VE assess the effectiveness of the week by analysing media coverage and data collected via a questionnaire given to those who participated in the week. The closing date for this year's survey is 20 July therefore the analysis is not currently available.
	The Government are committed to working with local government to enable the third sector to make an effective contribution to better public services. One mechanism for this is through the Compact. 99 per cent. of local authorities have local compacts in place or under development with the third sector. These provide the basis for partnership working within the sector and support local area agreements by setting out priorities for improving public services in local areas.
	Third sector organisations still face barriers to delivery of public services. However, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) and Communities and Local Government are taking steps to address these barriers through OTS action plan: "Partnership in Public Services". This includes a programme to train 2000 of the most significant public sector commissioners, many of whom will be drawn from local authorities.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Foreign Relations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many memorandums of understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign Governments entered into by Ministers in his Department; and what executive actions each entails.

John Prescott: My Department has not agreed any memorandums of understanding with foreign Governments.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the official ministerial residences allocated to him; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

John Prescott: I refer the right hon. Lady to the answer given to her by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 June 2007,  Official Report , column 1263W, and to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, North (Edward Miliband) on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1637W.

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on his departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL.

John Prescott: Following the recognition of British Sign language (BSL) as a language in its own right in March 2003, the Government committed £1.5 million funding for 10 projects designed to improve the infrastructure supporting BSL tutors and to raise awareness of the communication needs of Deaf BSL users among employers, service providers and in the wider community. The aim is for the outputs from the projects to have a lasting and sustainable impact. There are no videos on my departmental website.

Government Departments: Health

Peter Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent steps he has taken to improve the coordination of the work of Government Departments on health matters.

John Prescott: I am Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Public Health (DA(PH)). Its terms of reference are to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the Government's policies to improve public health and reduce health inequalities.
	Co-ordination across Government has been necessary to address a range of public health issues, including reducing smoking rates, tackling obesity, reducing teenage pregnancy rates, promoting sport and physical activity, developing Healthy Schools, and tackling drug and alcohol abuse and misuse. Owing to these developments, our reform programme and the fact that 10 years of economic prosperity, we have been able to treble the health budget in cash terms between 1996-97 and 2007-08. This has allowed us to employ over 79,000 more nurses and over 36,000 more doctors, significantly to reduce waiting lists (the average wait for inpatient treatment is now 6.4 weeks) and to regenerate the NHS estate (with 150 new hospitals open, under construction or in procurement).

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departments: Homeworking

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

Paul Goggins: Some members of staff in the Northern Ireland Office work from home from time to time on an ad hoc basis, with agreement from their local management. We do not record these details centrally.
	The Department is currently examining whether it would be possible to expand these arrangements to allow people to work from home on a more regular basis, bearing in mind cost, security, and health and safety issues.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials work in his Department.

Paul Goggins: As at 1 June 2007 the Northern Ireland Office employed 2,172 officials; this figure includes non-uniformed staff in the Northern Ireland prison service, staff within Youth Justice Agency, Compensation Agency and Forensic Science Northern Ireland.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of staff in his Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

Paul Goggins: Within the Northern Ireland Office:
	
		
			   Percentage of staff 
			 Male 39 
			 Female 61 
			 Registered disabled 4 
			 Aged 55 years or over 11

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in 2006-07; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The information set out as follows comprises bonuses paid under the special bonus scheme, and the performance arrangements for all NIO staff at senior civil service level and below. Performance bonuses are paid subsequent to the reporting year. Bonuses relating to the 2005-06 reporting year were paid in 2006 and were as follows:
	Number of staff receiving a bonus: 1,024
	Proportion of total work force: 49.2 per cent.
	Total amount of bonuses £686,425
	Largest single payment: £11,000
	Statistics are not yet available for the 2006-07 reporting year, as decisions on performance are currently being taken.
	All of these bonus payments are non-consolidated and non-pensionable and therefore do not have associated future costs for paybill.

Departments: Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what average number of days per year was taken by staff in his Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Paul Goggins: The following table details the average number of days per year taken as sick leave by staff in the Northern Ireland Office in the last five years.
	
		
			   Days lost per staff year 
			 2000-01 12.8 
			 2001-02 13.4 
			 2002-03 13.7 
			 2003-04 14.0 
			 2004-05 12.6 
			 2005-06 11.2

Driving Offences: Convictions

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were convicted of driving offences in  (a) each constituency and  (b) each council area in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: Conviction data are not available by Northern Ireland constituency. The statistics included within the response are based on the 12 police divisions for the years 1996 to 1999 and the 29 police district command units (DCUs) for the years 2000 to 2005. It is not possible to disaggregate data by DCU for years prior to 2000.
	With the exception of overall totals, figures in Table 1 should not be compared with those in Table 2, as Table 1 figures relate to the police division to which an offence was reported, while those in Table 2 relate to the police district command unit in which an offender's address falls.
	Data are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Table 1: Convictions for motoring off ences by police division 1996- 99( 1,2) 
			  Police division  1996  1997  1998  1999 
			 A (Musgrave Street) 1,574 1,621 814 901 
			 B (Grosvenor Road) 1,742 1,799 1,371 1,282 
			 D (Antrim Road) 2,932 2,933 2,290 2,449 
			 E (Strandtown) 1,638 2,137 1,437 1,360 
			 G (Newtownards) 1,246 1,312 902 750 
			 H (Armagh) 1,097 1,064 987 1,107 
			 J (Portadown) 1,477 1,652 1,284 1,528 
			 K (Dungannon) 1,352 1,327 1,018 969 
			 L (Enniskillen) 1,261 1,457 1,982 1,809 
			 N (Strand Road) 1,468 1,441 1,438 1,335 
			 0 (Coleraine) 1,419 1,083 1,039 1,240 
			 P (Ballymena) 971 944 735 1,024 
			 Missing 0 0 72 28 
			 Total 18,177 18,770 15,369 15,782 
			 (1 )Missing data relate to those offenders for whom police division information is not available. (2 )Police stations included within brackets are the Divisional Headquarters. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Convictions for motoring offences by District Command Unit 2000-05( 1) 
			  District command unit  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Antrim 436 385 379 402 522 397 
			 Ards 574 492 485 544 612 587 
			 Armagh 493 473 464 629 554 508 
			 Banbridge 312 258 287 275 290 305 
			 Belfast East 584 494 522 585 779 753 
			 Belfast North 863 773 723 963 1,307 1,016 
			 Belfast South 464 507 437 520 671 463 
			 Belfast West 611 552 669 665 844 681 
			 Ballymena 459 463 499 487 484 421 
			 Ballymoney 213 195 235 296 229 232 
			 Carrickfergus 310 330 278 286 395 301 
			 Coleraine 405 354 407 451 501 501 
			 Cookstown 273 289 271 347 285 294 
			 Craigavon 655 632 658 826 712 725 
			 Castlereagh 449 406 387 424 546 489 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 557 578 410 509 439 467 
			 Down 477 453 447 562 641 519 
			 Fermanagh 540 536 598 641 446 349 
			 Foyle 1,085 968 837 1,028 954 1,111 
			 Lame 319 241 262 256 274 260 
			 Limavady 281 256 282 338 313 336 
			 Lisburn 862 775 769 919 1,006 943 
			 Magherafelt 303 269 317 291 294 336 
			 Moyle 138 119 174 153 129 84 
			 Newtownabbey 572 586 465 540 733 573 
			 North Down 575 551 672 634 716 556 
			 Newry and Mourne 753 745 611 893 850 900 
			 Omagh 590 601 568 615 490 413 
			 Strabane 405 428 399 437 403 364 
			 Missing 832 757 832 826 796 650 
			 Total 15,390 14,466 14,344 16,342 17,215 15,534 
			 (1 )Missing data relate to those offenders for whom DCU information is not available

Juvenile Justice Centre

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what academic qualifications were attained by juveniles detained at the Juvenile Justice Centre in each of the last six years; and what steps he is taking to increase the numbers.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification type  Subjects covered  Number of young people  Number of qualifications attained 
			  2002
			 GCSE English; Maths; Science 1 1 
			  Food Hygiene 12 12 
			 
			  2003
			 AQA Maths; Art; Home Economics; PSHE; Business Studies; Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene 24 50 
			 NSP Number Skills; Communication Skills; ICT 25 29 
			 
			  2004
			 AQA Maths; English; Geography; Art; Home Economics; PSHE; Business Studies; Music; Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene 65 94 
			 NSP Number Skills; Communication Skills; ICT; Personal Skills 65 94 
			 GCSE English; English Literature; Maths; Child Development 5 14 
			 
			  2005
			 AQA Maths; English; Geography; Art; Home Economics; PSHE; Business Studies; Music; Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene; Car Mechanics; Swimming; Kayaking 56 226 
			 NSP Number Skills; Communication Skills; ICT; Personal Skills 41 124 
			 GCSE English; English Literature; Maths 4 (1)— 
			 
			  2006
			 AQA Maths; English; Geography; Art; Home Economics; PSHE; Business Studies; Music; Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene; Car Mechanics; Swimming; Kayaking; Cartooning; Life Skills 62 121 
			 NSP Number Skills; Communication Skills; ICT; Personal Skills 39 97 
			 GCSE English; English Literature; Maths; RE; ICT; Science; German 3 (1)— 
			 
			  2007
			 AQA Maths; English; Geography; Art; Home Economics; PSHE; Business Studies; Music; Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene; Car Mechanics; Swimming; Kayaking; Cartooning; Life Skills (2)140 Pending 
			 Essential Skills Number Skills (2)40 Pending 
			 Essential Skills Communication Skills (2)40 Pending 
			 Occupational Skills Vehicle Studies (entry level GCSE equivalent) (2)4 Pending 
			 (1) Results not forwarded to Juvenile Justice Centre as the young person had been discharged from custody by the time results were published. (2) Figures for 2007 show those entered for examinations to date—results are pending.  Key: AQA—Assessment and Qualifications Alliance NSP—National Skills Profile 
		
	
	There has been a steady growth in academic qualifications taken and achieved over the last six years. A culture of learning is well established amongst staff and young people and the centre will seek further to strengthen this ethos by continuing to motivate, encourage and promote the value of education in improving the life chances and opportunities for young people. Service delivery is regularly reviewed and additions to the curriculum will be made in response to the requirements of custody and community plans.

Roads: Accidents

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured as a result of road traffic accidents in Northern Ireland, broken down by (i) council area and (ii) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: This information is not collated in the format requested but is available by district command unit as set out in the following tables. Data are available for the last nine years only.
	Table 1 relates to  (a) persons killed and Table 2 relates to  (b) persons seriously injured as a result of road traffic collisions during the last nine years for which statistics are available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of injury road traffic collision fatalities by district command unit, 1998 to 2006 
			  DCU  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Antrim 6 3 3 12 5 10 7 7 11 
			 Ards 6 5 2 13 4 4 8 5 4 
			 Armagh 12 9 7 7 9 4 8 5 6 
			 Banbridge 7 4 4 5 8 4 6 1 3 
			 East Belfast 4 4 3 3 4 1 0 1 1 
			 North Belfast 6 2 8 1 7 3 2 4 2 
			 South Belfast 1 1 0 0 2 2 3 4 1 
			 West Belfast 6 6 5 7 3 5 3 4 3 
			 Ballymena 9 2 9 4 6 9 3 7 4 
			 Ballymoney 1 7 4 1 6 3 5 5 1 
			 Carrickfergus 1 3 1 0 2 3 1 0 0 
			 Coleraine 7 8 7 7 6 4 3 4 12 
			 Cookstown 7 5 8 4 2 3 2 3 4 
			 Craigavon 2 4 5 7 4 2 1 2 1 
			 Castlereagh 0 2 9 2 7 2 2 3 4 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 7 7 10 8 5 8 9 6 8 
			 Down 5 5 9 5 7 6 4 4 6 
			 Fermanagh 8 11 11 14 7 8 14 11 15 
			 Foyle 4 3 4 4 5 4 7 6 3 
			 Larne 2 2 3 5 2 8 3 2 3 
			 Limavady 2 2 5 10 0 4 5 7 1 
			 Lisburn 11 10 10 6 13 12 9 9 6 
			 Magherafelt 5 9 6 4 5 3 5 11 4 
			 Moyle 2 1 0 1 3 1 3 0 2 
			 Newtownabbey 7 4 4 2 4 4 6 4 4 
			 North Down 5 3 3 1 4 5 4 3 4 
			 Newry and Mourne 20 14 22 7 12 19 18 9 8 
			 Omagh 5 4 5 5 6 6 4 8 2 
			 Strabane 2 1 4 3 2 3 2 0 3 
			 Total 160 141 171 148 150 150 147 135 126 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of casualties seriously injured due to injury road traffic collisions by district command unit, 1998 to 2006 
			  DCU  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Antrim 58 44 57 91 59 52 34 21 41 
			 Ards 77 51 75 72 62 48 56 53 45 
			 Armagh 95 60 58 59 68 60 44 48 59 
			 Banbridge 56 32 31 46 37 32 34 27 34 
			 East Belfast 47 47 68 59 56 32 38 38 35 
			 North Belfast 47 59 70 62 63 38 43 57 42 
			 South Belfast 47 54 76 63 55 57 65 37 43 
			 West Belfast 65 67 106 90 72 58 51 28 40 
			 Ballymena 49 60 53 55 64 29 47 52 55 
			 Ballymoney 44 47 41 27 36 26 25 20 26 
			 Carrickfergus 31 18 25 28 19 23 8 22 32 
			 Coleraine 42 75 59 57 58 45 44 20 42 
			 Cookstown 30 50 51 34 30 35 32 26 32 
			 Craigavon 67 43 82 73 54 55 47 53 43 
			 Castlereagh 53 36 55 52 37 35 25 7 24 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 60 45 65 59 54 63 47 59 47 
			 Down 41 50 86 82 65 46 40 31 50 
			 Fermanagh 73 75 81 69 81 56 48 67 49 
			 Foyle 80 62 77 59 50 57 61 48 34 
			 Larne 17 33 22 34 32 44 27 21 26 
			 Limavady 34 42 31 40 47 31 48 44 39 
			 Lisburn 90 103 137 153 101 86 76 71 88 
			 Magherafelt 32 46 38 44 45 44 23 36 37 
			 Moyle 16 22 28 11 26 25 17 11 13 
			 Newtownabbey 69 40 76 57 54 28 30 39 67 
			 North Down 34 54 55 40 63 54 41 39 34 
			 Newry and Mourne 93 97 97 82 79 72 67 32 53 
			 Omagh 58 65 49 54 33 42 37 36 53 
			 Strabane 33 32 37 30 26 15 28 30 28 
			 Total 1,538 1,509 1,786 1,682 1,526 1,288 1,183 1,073 1,211 
			  Source: PSNI Central Statistics Unit.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured as a result of road traffic accidents at the location of static speed cameras in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: Data are available for the last nine years only, and are presented in the following tables. The statistics relate to incidents within a 500 m radius of the camera location.
	
		
			  Number 
			   Fatalities  People seriously injured 
			  Antrim Road, Belfast   
			 1998 0 1 
			 1999 0 4 
			 2000 0 0 
			 2001 0 1 
			 2002 1 0 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 0 0 
			 2005 0 1 
			 2006 0 0 
			
			  Springfield Road, Belfast   
			 1998 0 0 
			 1999 0 3 
			 2000 0 2 
			 2001 0 2 
			 2002 0 2 
			 2003 0 2 
			 2004 0 0 
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 0 0 
			
			  Saintfield Road, Belfast   
			 1998 0 5 
			 1999 0 6 
			 2000 0 2 
			 2001 0 3 
			 2002 0 1 
			 2003 0 1 
			 2004 0 1 
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 0 1 
			
			  Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast   
			 1998 0 2 
			 1999 1 1 
			 2000 0 1 
			 2001 0 5 
			 2002 0 1 
			 2003 0 2 
			 2004 0 1 
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 0 0 
		
	
	For speed over distance camera system around Newry: A1 dual carriageway between Sheepbridge and Mourne Country roundabout and between the Cloghue roundabout and the border:
	
		
			  Number 
			   Fatalities  People seriously injured 
			 1998 0 5 
			 1999 2 4 
			 2000 1 1 
			 2001 1 11 
			 2002 5 11 
			 2003 4 3 
			 2004 4 6 
			 2005 1 5 
			 2006 0 0

Speed Limits: Cameras

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many static speed traps are located in each  (a) constituency and  (b) council area in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The locations of static speed traps are recorded by district council area rather than by constituency. The PSNI have advised us that the number of speed traps in each area is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Belfast city council 3 
			 Castlereagh district council 1 
			 Newry and Mourne district council 1

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Broadband

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government offices in the regions are taking to expand  (a) their own broadband use and  (b) broadband use within their regions.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	Government Offices are committed to providing staff with remote broadband access to their work systems where there is a justified business need. A number of staff have been provided with broadband access from their homes and further staff will be receiving connections in due course as business needs are identified.
	Government Offices have no remit to expand broadband usage through their geographic boundaries.

Departments: Foreign Relations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Memoranda of Understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign Governments entered into by Ministers in his Department; and what executive actions each entails.

Ian McCartney: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effect of UK implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment on product design.

Malcolm Wicks: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive encourage producers of electrical equipment to consider design of new products to facilitate environmentally sound treatment and reprocessing when equipment reaches its end of life.
	The UK has addressed this issue through regulation 59 of the waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 3289).

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many electronics producers have recycling obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations which come into force on 1 July; and how many of these are registered with a WEEE compliance scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The regulatory impact assessment issued alongside the WEEE Regulations estimated that there could be up to 7,000 producers with obligations under the WEEE Regulations which place around 2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the UK market annually.
	To date over 3,100 producers have registered in the UK representing all the major producers with a combined sales of just under 2 million tonnes of EEE sales. This total compares well with levels of producers registered in other European member states and we are confident that we have captured the bulk of UK obligated producers in terms of sales.
	The Government do recognise that there are a number of small producers who have yet to register. The DTI in conjunction with the environment agencies will therefore continue to promote the WEEE Regulations and encourage these producers into the UK WEEE system.

Energy Supply

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on the information the regulator needs to meet the new role assigned to it in the Energy White Paper of analysing the long term energy outlook in order to address concerns about security of supply.

Malcolm Wicks: As explained in the White Paper, the new Energy Markets Outlook is to be jointly run by my Department and Ofgem and will draw on analysis from National Grid, the wider industry and other sources. Information gathering and analytical work is now under way for the first report which will be published in the autumn.

Environment Protection

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to improve and reinforce consumer and investor confidence in new environmental technologies.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK has a thriving environmental sector, employing around 400,000 people, and forecast to grow from £25 billion in 2005 to £46 billion by 2015.
	Supporting the development of new environmental technologies is key to the Government's aim to enhance the UK's position in worldwide environmental markets and to realise the benefits of the jobs it can create. Engaging the knowledge and experience of business to direct DTI support for new technology will help grow consumer and investor confidence in this area. Through the DTI's technology programme, the Government have ring fenced £20 million per annum between 2005 and 2008 for investment in low carbon energy technologies.
	Other investments support innovative technologies that can enhance the efficiency with which materials, energy and water are utilised, and through the minimisation of waste. Examples include lean manufacturing and environmentally-friendly vehicles.
	The Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance was established in November last year and intends to publish its report in this parliamentary Session (before 26 July 2007). It will make recommendations for action by Government and business on how the UK can make the most of the opportunity that environmental protection can present for wealth creation and employment growth.
	The Commission is jointly-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Trade and Industry, and its membership is drawn from business, non-governmental organisations, academia, trade unions and public sector organisations.

Furniture: Imports

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps trading standards enforcement officers take to ensure that furniture imported into the UK from other EU member states meets the safety requirements of the relevant legislation.

Ian McCartney: Under single market rules, goods from other EU countries must be allowed to circulate freely. Products accepted for sale in one member state cannot be banned from sale in any other member states, except on safety grounds. How Trading Standards undertake market surveillance with regard to the safety legislation they enforce is a matter for them. I understand Trading Standards liaises with HM Revenue and Customs on furniture imports as appropriate, and that this has resulted in furniture being detained and convictions obtained for non-compliance with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (FFRs). They also act on tip-offs regarding unsafe furniture being sold door-to-door, at boot sales or at the side of the road, and make routine checks of furniture in retail outlets. In the period 1 April 2003-31 May 2007 there were 48 convictions for furniture not complying with the FFRs. This figure is from the Office of Fair Trading who stress it is based on returns received and that the actual figure is likely to be somewhat higher.

Gardens: Heating

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on the labelling of outdoor patio heaters for energy efficiency standards.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	Mandatory energy labelling in the European Union (EU) is covered by Framework Directive 92/75/EC, which requires that certain appliances display an energy label where they are offered for sale. This does not apply to outdoor patio heaters.
	The European Commission has started a review of the EU mandatory energy labelling scheme and the most recent information we have is that it intends to bring forward a revised proposal in early 2008.
	The UK supports the extension of the labelling scheme to a much wider range of energy using products.

International Atomic Energy Agency: Recruitment

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the International Atomic Energy Agency on its recruitment policy, with particular reference to the advertising of its vacancies; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 June 2007
	 The Government are aware that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) advertises vacancies for Professional and General Service posts on its website. Officials from the UK Mission to the IAEA in Vienna have met several times with the agency's personnel division to discuss their recruitment practices. The IAEA's personnel systems, including their recruitment section, are subject to oversight by the agency's external auditors, the latter are appointed by members of the IAEA board of governors of which the UK is a permanent member. In addition the IAEA division of management publishes a biennial report on human resource management, which is issued to IAEA member states. The Government believe this is an acceptable level of scrutiny for such an organisation and are therefore satisfied that the recruitment policy of the IAEA is fair and transparent.

Internet: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the losses suffered in each of the last five years by the British film, music, retail and rental industries as a result of internet piracy and the production and distribution of illegal copies of film and music; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Industry estimates that in 2005 the worldwide value of trade in pirate music discs was $4.5 billion while 20 billion tracks were illegally downloaded. In the same time the criminal gain in the UK from DVD piracy was estimated at £278 million. The Government are committed to working with industry to address this problem.
	Better intelligence is the key work to combating intellectual property crime across the board. We need a better understanding of the criminals involved and their business methods. The Government have been working on this and a number of areas where existing material appears to be deficient. The UK Intellectual Property Office has set up an intelligence hub and is bringing in expert resources. Collaboration is vital, and I call on all sectors to become involved in the important work and to share the information they have.

Nanotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Government spent on nanotechnology in each of the last 10 years; and how much it plans to spend in the next 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: A wide variety of Government supported research activities could to some extent be deemed to embrace nanoscience and nanotechnologies, thus it is not possible to accurately identify all Government funding in this area in the last 10 years.
	With this proviso, the estimated Government support committed for nanotechnology work over the last 10 years amounts to about £408 million as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 66.27 
			 2005-06 66.0 
			 2004-05 65.76 
			 2003-04 60.80 
			 2002-03 40.58 
			 2001-02 50 
			 2000-01 35.5 
			 1999-2000 11.00 
			 1998-99 12.39 
			 1997-98 (1)— 
			 (1) No data available (as there was no nanotechnology relevant coding at this time). 
		
	
	It is not possible to say precisely how much the Government will spend on nanotechnology over the next 10 years. These decisions will be based on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review and commercial and academic opportunities identified by the DTI's Technology Strategy Board and the Research Councils.

New Businesses: Stafford

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new business start-ups there were in Stafford constituency in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the likely start-up rate in the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: The figures in the following table reflect the number of business start up activity in Stafford assisted by Business Link funding, they are:
	
		
			   New business starts 
			 2005-06 150 
			 2004-05 125 
			 2003-04 110 
		
	
	From April this year the five existing Business Link services have been replaced by a single, regionally managed and locally delivered service. As a result there will be no dedicated/targeted services for Stafford/Staffordshire as we have now set-up a regionally wide consistent service.
	Over the same period, Advantage West Midlands (AWM) through its business creation activity has assisted:
	
		
			   Business creation( 1) 
			 2005-06 1,650 
			 2004-05 225 
			 2003-04 864 
			 (1) Businesses created and demonstrating growth after 12 months and businesses attracted to the region. 
		
	
	Disaggregated figures are unavailable on a sub regional basis.
	In the current FY 2006-07 AWM, has assisted 1,293 business start ups from a forecast target range of 1,232-1,848. For FY 2007-08 the target range for new business creation is 1,264-1,896.
	Forecast estimates over the next two financial years (2008-09, 2009-10) on a sub regional or on a regional basis is not available. The outcome of the comprehensive spending review 2007 will determine how regional development agencies corporate plans, explains what it plans to deliver in return for the resources allocated to it, are being developed and it is difficult at this stage to provide forecasts.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Finance

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect he expects the planned change in funding for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in financial year 2007-08 and subsequent years to have on employment at the UK Atomic Energy Authority's Harwell and Winfrith sites.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 14 June 2007
	The outcome of the Government's comprehensive spending review (CSR07) is not expected until autumn 2007. It is for the Site Licence Company to determine what effect CSR07 funding might have on employment at the sites.

Radioactive Wastes: Waste Management

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 772-73W, on radioactive wastes: waste management, what definition he uses of full share of waste management costs.

Malcolm Wicks: The reference in the Energy Review report to sharing costs reflects the fact that the storage facilities and deep repository will be primarily for waste that already exists: this will be for the public sector to fund. But we need to decide what contribution owners of new nuclear plant should make to the total costs. Our principle is that they should meet their "full share" of these costs, but we need to do more detailed work on how this should be calculated.

Science: Education

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to evaluate the 21st century science GCSEs, and other new syllabi.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 790W.

Science: Government Assistance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms exist in Government to coordinate, develop and evaluate science centres.

Malcolm Wicks: DTI supported the start up of Ecsite UK, an umbrella organisation for science and discovery centres, to provide a national voice to the Government and to be the point of reference for the work of science and discovery centres. The Government have never had any direct responsibility for the set up and development of any individual science centres.
	DTI and DfES are funding an Ecsite-UK initiative, totalling £750,000 between November 2006 to March 2008, for work which will enable consortia of science centres to work more effectively together and in collaboration with other organisations, with the objective of achieving financial sustainability.

Science: Government Assistance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of science centres in the UK and of their role in science education; and what the Government's plans are for the development of science centres in the next five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Science centres are one of the many ways in which enthusiasm for science can be generated among young people. DTI and DfES are currently providing £750,000 to Ecsite UK, an umbrella body for science and discovery centres, for work specifically designed to allow science centres to assess how they can work in combination with others, to achieve financial sustainability.
	Future development of science centres is a matter for the science centres themselves.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Deportation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with how many people against whom removal proceedings had commenced the Immigration and Nationality Directorate lost contact in each month of the last two years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of people against whom removal proceedings were commenced in each month.

John Reid: The information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Deportation

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which countries received returning failed asylum applicants under the UK enforced returns programme in each year since 2004; how many enforced returnees were sent back to each of those countries in each year; and what packages of assistance were provided in each case;
	(2)  which countries have received returning failed asylum applicants under the UK voluntary returns programme since 2004; how many voluntary returnees have been sent back to each; and what packages of assistance were provided by each.

Liam Byrne: The first of the accompanying tables shows the number of asylum applicants, including dependants, who were recorded as being "forcibly" removed from the UK since 2004, broken down by destination. These figures include enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and since 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities.
	The second of the accompanying tables shows the number of asylum applicants, including dependants, leaving the UK under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration since 2004, broken down by destination. These figures may include some cases where enforcement action had been initiated.
	It is not possible to say at what stage in the asylum process people are at the time of their removal, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.
	Information relating to the reintegration assistance package provided in each case is not available; it would be available by examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures, excluding assisted returns(1,2,3) of asylum applicants(4),( )including dependants, by destination(5), 2004-06(6) 
			  Destination  2004  2005( 6)  2006( 6)  2004-06 total( 6) 
			 Albania 565 490 1,015 2,070 
			 Macedonia 20 30 15 65 
			 Moldova 65 55 40 160 
			 Romania 880 665 375 1,920 
			 Russia 40 45 50 135 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 1,625 1,315 730 3,675 
			 Turkey 255 790 1,610 2,655 
			 Ukraine 150 100 75 325 
			 EU Accession States — 135 170 305 
			 Other Former USSR 135 135 135 410 
			 Europe other 2,300 2,185 2,005 6,490 
			 Europe total 6,040 5,945 6,220 18,210 
			  
			 Colombia 185 210 145 540 
			 Ecuador 185 155 65 410 
			 Jamaica 465 395 395 1,255 
			 Americas other 170 165 145 480 
			 Americas total 1,005 925 755 2,680 
			  
			 Algeria 155 205 190 550 
			 Angola 80 125 25 230 
			 Burundi * 15 5 15 
			 Cameroon 55 25 25 105 
			 Congo 30 50 45 125 
			 Dem. Rep. Congo 15 40 90 145 
			 Eritrea 5 * * 10 
			 Ethiopia 845 25 50 920 
			 Gambia 45 35 65 145 
			 Ghana 245 240 155 635 
			 Ivory Coast 50 10 25 85 
			 Kenya 110 50 100 260 
			 Liberia 45 20 10 75 
			 Nigeria 265 560 640 1,470 
			 Rwanda 35 5 5 45 
			 Sierra Leone 40 60 70 170 
			 Somalia 15 5 10 30 
			 Sudan 25 35 30 95 
			 Tanzania 20 45 50 110 
			 Uganda 210 235 190 635 
			 Zimbabwe 50 180 50 280 
			 Africa other 245 340 210 795 
			 Africa total 2,585 2,300 2,035 6,920 
			  
			 Iran 75 170 170 410 
			 Iraq 5 45 65 120 
			 Libya 20 40 30 90 
			 Syria 30 25 45 95 
			 Middle East other 115 205 260 580 
			 Middle East total 245 480 570 1,295 
			  
			 Afghanistan 345 485 450 1,280 
			 Bangladesh 375 255 230 865 
			 China 90 215 160 465 
			 India 260 340 485 1,085 
			 Pakistan 505 825 1,000 2,330 
			 Sri Lanka 260 160 410 830 
			 Vietnam 10 45 100 155 
			 Asia other 275 310 405 990 
			 Asia total 2,115 2,635 3,245 7,990 
			  
			 Other, and destination not known 220 165 75 460 
			  
			 Total asylum applicants removed(4) 12,210 12,450 12,900 37,560 
			 (1) Includes enforced removals and those departing 'Voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them. (2) Removals in 2005 and 2006 include those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (3) Excludes Assisted Voluntary Returns. (4) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, including dependants. (5) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with '—' = 0, * = 1 or 2. (6) Provisional figures. 
		
	
	
		
			  Asylum applicants( 1) , including dependants, leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes( 2) , by destination( 3) , 2004-06( 4) 
			  Destination  2004  2005( 4)  2006( 4)  2004-06 total( 4) 
			 Albania 600 510 330 1,440 
			 Macedonia 5 5 10 20 
			 Moldova 10 5 10 30 
			 Romania 5 5 5 20 
			 Russia 20 35 60 120 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 145 170 125 440 
			 Turkey 25 30 85 140 
			 Ukraine 15 20 30 60 
			 EU Accession States 155 — 5 160 
			 Other Former USSR 25 45 85 155 
			 Europe other 35 25 30 90 
			 Europe total 1,040 855 780 2,675 
			  
			 Colombia 60 55 60 175 
			 Ecuador 40 15 35 90 
			 Jamaica 5 10 35 50 
			 Americas other 50 20 55 125 
			 Americas total 160 100 185 440 
			  
			 Algeria 35 40 110 185 
			 Angola 25 40 95 165 
			 Burundi * * 5 10 
			 Cameroon 10 10 20 35 
			 Congo 5 10 25 40 
			 Dem. Rep. Congo * 5 25 30 
			 Eritrea — — — — 
			 Ethiopia 15 15 35 60 
			 Gambia * * 5 10 
			 Ghana * 5 15 20 
			 Ivory Coast 5 5 10 20 
			 Kenya 15 5 35 55 
			 Liberia 5 5 10 15 
			 Nigeria 10 10 50 70 
			 Rwanda 5 5 10 20 
			 Sierra Leone 10 5 25 40 
			 Somalia 15 15 35 65 
			 Sudan 5 10 45 55 
			 Tanzania 10 — 15 25 
			 Uganda 20 30 45 95 
			 Zimbabwe 60 100 220 385 
			 Africa other 40 55 120 215 
			 Africa total 295 375 945 1,610 
			  
			 Iran 175 220 305 700 
			 Iraq 430 775 1,710 2,915 
			 Libya * — 15 15 
			 Syria * 5 10 20 
			 Middle East other 55 55 70 180 
			 Middle East total 665 1,055 2,110 3,830 
			  
			 Afghanistan 235 425 520 1,180 
			 Bangladesh * 5 20 25 
			 China * 30 110 145 
			 India 15 20 70 105 
			 Pakistan 55 85 190 330 
			 Sri Lanka 210 250 280 740 
			 Vietnam 5 10 40 55 
			 Asia other 20 25 65 110 
			 Asia total 545 850 1,295 2,690 
			  
			 Other, and destination not known 5 * 20 20 
			  
			 Total asylum applicants removed(1) 2,705 3,235 5,330 11,270 
			 (1 )Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, including dependants. (2) Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some cases where enforcement action had been initiated. (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with '—' = 0, * = 1 or 2. (4) Provisional figures.

Asylum: Iran

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account is taken of membership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in assessing applications for asylum in the UK.

John Reid: Guidance to case owners on the handling of asylum claims made by Iranian nationals on the basis of their membership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran is contained in the Operational Guidance Note on Iran which is published on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/countryspecificasylumpolicyogns/
	Case owners are also able to utilise country information on the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in the Iran country of origin information report also available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html.

Children: Abuse

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Association of Chief Police Officers' review of the guidance for the investigation of historical child abuse.

Vernon Coaker: We continue to work with the ACPO Working Group reviewing the guidance on the investigation of historic child abuse. The development of practice and guidance from the National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) will also help ensure that there is a consistent approach across the police service and prevent duplication. In the light of this activity, the Working Group is reviewing the work requirements and hopes to be in a position to share the revised document in the autumn.

Departments: Advertising

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much revenue his Department has received from  (a) advertisements on his Department's public information leaflets and  (b) advertisements on his Department's public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: In the last 10 years the Home Office has not generated any advertising income from its leaflets or websites.

Departments: Foreign Relations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Memorandums of Understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign governments entered into by Ministers in his Department; and what Executive actions each entails.

Joan Ryan: The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain would incur disproportionate costs.

Departments: Freedom of Information

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests were made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each month of the last two years; what percentage of requests were responded to within 20 working days of their receipt; how many requests were successful; how many were rejected; and how many are the subject of  (a) an appeal and  (b) a complaint.

John Reid: The following table includes figures for the number of requests received each month in 2005 and 2006. The percentage of requests responded to within 20 working days of their receipt are included in the quarterly statistical reports produced by the Ministry of Justice.
	The number of successful and rejected requests are included in the quarterly statistical reports produced by the Ministry of Justice. We have interpreted the request for the number of requests subject to complaint as cases where an internal review has been requested, these figures are included on the following table.
	We have interpreted the request for the number of requests subject on an appeal, as cases where a complaint has been made to the Information Commissioner, these figures are included on the following table. These figures relate to cases where the Information Commissioner has advised us that an appeal has been received, and are provided as an annual figure as we are not always informed of the month when a complaint was made to the Commissioner.
	There has been one Information Tribunal case.
	
		
			  Freedom of information requests received by the Home Office in 2005 and 2006 
			   Number received 
			   2005  2006 
			 January 299 222 
			 February 230 213 
			 March 188 239 
			 April 155 199 
			 May 99 216 
			 June 118 256 
			 July 121 247 
			 August 135 200 
			 September 159 286 
			 October 148 270 
			 November 184 293 
			 December 117 216 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of internal review requests received by the Home Office in 2005 and 2006 
			   Number received 
			   2005  2006 
			 January 0 9 
			 February 4 13 
			 March 9 10 
			 April 9 7 
			 May 17 6 
			 June 15 10 
			 July 11 9 
			 August 6 19 
			 September 10 9 
			 October 4 15 
			 November 14 6 
			 December 12 10 
			 Total 111 123 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of cases at the Information Commissioner 
			   Number 
			 2005 26 
			 2006 40

Departments: Legal Costs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by his Department on legal fees in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The expenditure on legal fees for the Home Office and Borders and Immigration Agency, Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau, for the requested period, is in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Home Office/BIA 10,067 11,505 17,362 28,075 23,614 
			 IPS 98 292 363 766 1,214 
			 CRB 0 0 8 35 29 
		
	
	The aforementioned table covers external legal fees only. Home Office numbers include the National Offenders Management Scheme and the Office of Criminal Justice Reform which have now transferred from the Home Office to the Ministry of Justice.

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) services and  (b) products his Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

John Reid: From best available records between June 2006 and May 2007 the Home Office procured from Remploy  (a) no services and  (b) 1,750 operational and 2,314 training civil responder personal protective ensembles for police officers trained in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) response at a cost of £3,211,466.36 inclusive of VAT.

Deportation: Afghanistan

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people whose asylum claims had failed were deported to Afghanistan in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Information on the destination of persons removed from the UK has only been collated since 2004. The table shows provisional figures rounded to the nearest five persons, who had claimed asylum at some stage, who were removed from the United Kingdom to Afghanistan between January 2004 and March 2007, inclusive.
	It is not possible to say what stage in the asylum process people have reached at the time of their removal, because those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.
	Deportations are a specific subset of removals; most illegal immigrants are removed under administrative or illegal entry powers from the UK and not deported. It has therefore been assumed that your question refers to the number of asylum applicants removed to Afghanistan; information on those deported is not separately available.
	The information provided comes from published statistics, which are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1,2)  of asylum applicants, including dependants, to Afghanistan, January 2004 to March 2007 
			  Destination  2004  2005( 3,4)  2006( 3,4)  January to March 2007( 3,4) 
			 Afghanistan 575 910 970 255 
			 (1) Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and removals on safe third country grounds. (2) Figures have been rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. (3) Figures since 2005 include those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (4) Provisional figures.  Note: Destination data as recorded on source database.

Detainees

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances embassy officials from foreign countries are given access to detained asylum seekers before their claims have been refused.

John Reid: Embassy officials are not given access to asylum seekers before their claims are refused, unless the individual in question makes a specific request for consular access. Asylum seekers will not be prevented from meeting officials from the embassy of their country of origin if they make a specific request for consular access.

Detainees

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether detained asylum seekers are given a choice whether to meet officials from the embassy of their country of origin.

John Reid: The Home Office would not ask an asylum seeker to meet officials from the embassy of their country of origin until and unless a negative decision was taken in respect of his claim for protection in the United Kingdom. After that time, refused asylum seekers may be requested to meet officials from the embassy of their country of origin to assist in the process of obtaining documents for their return. Such meetings are not compulsory although refused asylum seekers are expected to co-operate in arrangements for their return.

Domestic Violence: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of domestic violence were recorded in West Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: From the information collected centrally on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify recorded cases of domestic violence. Such offences are not specifically defined by law and details of the individual circumstances of offences are not collected.

Driving Under Influence: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drink-driving tests were carried out in West Lancashire in 2004.

Vernon Coaker: Data relate to the number of screening breath tests conducted and are available at police force areas only. The number of screening breath tests carried out in the Lancashire police force area in 2004 was 10,200.
	Detailed information on screening breath tests is given in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Motoring Offences and Breath Test Statistics, England and Wales, 2004. The publication is available in the Library and on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0506.pdf

Drug Seizures: Serious Organised Crime Agency

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) UK and  (b) non-UK seizures there were of (i) cocaine, (ii) heroin, (iii) cannabis, (iv) LSD and (v) ecstasy within the responsibility of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in 2006-07.

Vernon Coaker: Details of drug interdictions flowing from the Serious Organised Crime Agency's work are provided in the agency's 2006-07 annual report. This was published on 18 May 2007.

Drug Seizures: Serious Organised Crime Agency

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the  (a) date and  (b) weight was of each individual (i) UK and (ii) non-UK seizure of (A) cocaine, (B) heroin, (C) cannabis, (D) LSD and (E) ecstasy in operations involving the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in 2006-07;
	(2)  which agencies were responsible for each  (a) UK and  (b) non-UK seizure of (i) cocaine, (ii) heroin, (iii) cannabis, (iv) LSD and (v) ecstasy in operations involving the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in 2006-07; and in which country each individual seizure is being prosecuted.

Vernon Coaker: Information on drugs seizures in England and Wales in 2006-07 is not yet available.

Greater Manchester Police: Discrimination

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of  (a) racial discrimination and  (b) sex discrimination have been made against Greater Manchester police by (i) all employees, (ii) all police officers and (iii) officers above the rank of inspector in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 June 2007
	The available data on the number of compensation claims are available from 2002-03 onwards and are given in the table. The data are not available by staff type or rank.
	
		
			  Compensation claims brought against GMP by police employees, from 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006 
			   Race discrimination  Sex discrimination 
			 2002-03 2 4 
			 2003-04 3 2 
			 2004-05 1 0 
			 2005-06 0 1

Homicide: Females

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the time scale is for the internal police inquiry into the handling of honour killings; whether the results of the inquiry will be made public; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: After an internal review by the Metropolitan Police Service's Professional Standards Directorate, the recent honour killing case involving Miss Banaz Mahmod was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for investigation on 13 June 2007.
	It would be inappropriate to commit to time scales as this stage. The IPCC will, where appropriate, make their findings public at the conclusion of their investigation.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the right hon. Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill will attend a meeting of the all party group on trafficking in women and children with Ms Liz Hermer, Head of Immigration Services, as requested in the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 16 April, to give a presentation on child asylum seekers and their traffickers.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 June 2007
	The letter of 16 April was delayed in reaching my office. I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 June to advise that Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, will attend on my behalf and her office will be in touch to arrange a suitable date and time.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the conclusions of the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the decision to bring in biometric immigration documents for all non-EU nationals in the UK next year.

Liam Byrne: I have written to the Joint Committee on Human Rights in response to their Report on the UK Borders Bill. My response addresses all the points raised by the Committee, including those on biometric immigration documents.

Internet: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to improve data gathering capabilities on internet piracy.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The National IP Crime Strategy, led by the UK Intellectual Property Office, aims to co-ordinate the work done by the range of government enforcement agencies and industry bodies in order to tackle the problem posed by counterfeiting and piracy. One of the key priorities of the strategy has been to develop a national intelligence database, to share information and better join up enforcement strategies. The UK-IPO will continue to work with industry, police, customs and others to ensure that the database effectively facilitates information collection, sharing and effective targeting of resources.

Ministerial Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer the letter dated 11 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs P. Akhtar.

John Reid: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 31 May 2007.

Offensive Weapons: Convictions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of stabbings in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 20 June 2007
	 Information on the number of persons found guilty at all courts for stabbings is not available because the individual circumstances of offences are not centrally collected. As a result, data on convictions for offences involving stabbings cannot be separated from cases of murder, manslaughter and assaults etc. and cannot be provided.

Offensive Weapons: Convictions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of knife crime in each of the last three years were suffering from mental illness.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 20 June 2007
	 It is not possible to identify the number of people convicted of knife crime who were suffering from mental illness because the individual circumstances of offenders are not centrally collected.

Personation: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of  (a) identity and  (b) online fraud were recorded in West Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Joan Ryan: The information requested is not available centrally. The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as identity theft, is not in itself an offence in law. It is the action that is undertaken, using those identification details, that needs to be considered in respect of whether an offence has occurred and should be recorded.
	With regard to online fraud, this is not a separately defined offence in law and such instances will be recorded under the appropriate fraud classification depending on the circumstances of the offence.

Police: Boats

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police boats were being operated by each police authority in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: This information is not collected by the Home Office in respect of police forces in England and Wales.

Police: Bridgend

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) police community support officers were based in Bridgend constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The available data are for the Bridgend Basic Command Unit (BCU) and are given in the following table. Data for police officers are available from 2003 onwards, and for police community support officers from 2005 onwards.
	
		
			  Police officer strength (FTE)( 1)  for Bridgend Basic Command Unit, as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006( 2) 
			   As at 31 March each year 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Bridgend 254 280 247 229 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.  (2) Data are not available prior to 2002-03. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength (FTE)( 1)  for Bridgend Basic Command Unit, as at 30 June 2005 to 30 June 2006( 2) 
			   As at  30 June  each year 
			   2005  2006 
			 Bridgend 16 15 
			 (1). This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.  (2). This collection was undertaken by the Home Office Police Productivity Unit and does not form part of the "Police Service Strength" statistical series.

Police: Gender

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken to compare the effects of mixed gender and single gender frontline policing in local communities.

Tony McNulty: Home Office research programme on policing has not included any research to compare the effects of mixed gender frontline policing in local communities and single gender frontline policing. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has operational responsibility in this area and I am advised by the NPIA that they currently have no plans to carry out research into effects of mixed gender and single gender frontline policing.

Police: Motor Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police response vehicles were in road accidents while on operational duty in each of the last five years; how many injuries were sustained by  (a) police officers and  (b) police community support officers in such accidents; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The available data refer to all vehicles being used for a police purpose and to all police personnel, not separately to police officers and police community support officers. They cover the period from 2002-03. The information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of road traffic collisions on public roads involving police vehicles, from 2002-03 to 2005-06: England and Wales 
			   Number of accidents 
			 2002-03(1) 18,644 
			 2003-04 20,511 
			 2004-05(2) 19,046 
			 2005-06 19,280 
			 (1) Data not available for Durham and West Midlands. (2) Data not available for Cleveland, Leicestershire and South Wales. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of police personnel casualties resulting from those road traffic accidents during immediate/emergency response, from 2002-03 to 2005-06 , England and Wales 
			   Fatal injury  Serious injury  Other injury 
			 2002-03(1) 2 33 568 
			 2003-04 1 38 765 
			 2004-05(2) 0 25 781 
			 2005-06(3) 3 28 828 
			 (1) Data not available for Durham, Metropolitan police (other injury only), North Yorkshire and West Midlands. (2) Data not available for Dorset and Leicestershire. (3) Data not available for Nottinghamshire.

Police: Pay

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ranges of pay are for all ranks in the police force.

Tony McNulty: This information is available in 'the Determinations of the Secretary of State under the Police Regulations 2003' Annex F. This information is too large to be included in the  O fficial  R eport, but I will arrange for a copy of the document to be placed in the House of Commons Library shortly. It can also be found in Home Office circular 014/2007 on the Home Office website under:
	http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/HO/circular.nsfA/iewTemplatepercent20Forpercent20HOCircularsWeb?OpenForm &Start=1&Count=30&Expand=1&Seq=1

Police: Protective Clothing

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police officers are provided with stab-proof vests while on duty in  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) the South West.

Tony McNulty: Decisions about the selection, purchase and issue of body armour are matters for individual chief officers of police.

Police: Uniforms

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) guidance he has issued to police authorities and  (b) recent discussions he has held with police staff associations on police uniforms styles; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The design of police uniforms is a matter for individual chief constables and their police authorities. A national advisory specification has been provided to forces by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who have met with police staff associations to discuss this issue.

Police: Weapons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what non-lethal weaponry is in development for use by the police.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) completed a comprehensive survey of less lethal technologies in 2001. That survey, and the work that followed, resulted in the introduction of conducted energy devices to England and Wales in the form of the Taser M26 in 2003 and the Taser X26 in 2005. Kinetic energy devices were introduced to the United Kingdom in the form of the L21A1 baton round system in 2002. The L21A1 system was replaced by the L60A1 Attenuating Energy Projectile system in 2005.
	HOSDB has since been tasked with assessing promising commercial off-the-shelf products against the Association of Chief Police Officers' operational requirement as they become available. Additionally the UK Steering Group on Alternative Policing Approaches Towards the Management of Conflict has put in place a programme to develop a Discriminating Irritant Projectile (DIP) that will provide police with a round that will produce a discriminating cloud of irritant at distances of up to 40 metres.

Police: Weapons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what newly-developed non-lethal weapons have been supplied to police officers in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office Scientific Development Branch completed a comprehensive survey of less lethal technologies in 2001. That survey, and the work that followed, resulted in the introduction in England and Wales of conducted energy devices (CED) in the form of the Taser M26 in 2003 and the Taser X26 in 2005. Kinetic energy (KE) devices in the form of the L21A1 baton round system were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2002 in support to firearms. The L60A1 Attenuating Energy Projectile system replaced the L21A1 system in 2005 as part of a cross government development programme to identify a less potentially lethal alternative to the baton round. Water cannon were made available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2004. CS spray was approved for use by the Police Service in Northern Ireland in 2003, having previously been introduced in England and Wales in 1997.

Proceeds of Crime: Wales

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the South Wales police authority recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since its introduction.

Vernon Coaker: The total value of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by South Wales police in each of the last four years under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 75,637 
			 2004-05 400,577 
			 2005-06 5,167,828 
			 2006-07 2,392,216 
		
	
	These include cases involving Regional Asset Recovery Teams. Confiscation orders are enforced by the magistrates courts.

Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Manpower

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) police support staff have been reassigned to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency since its creation, broken down by the region and branch from which they were reassigned.

Vernon Coaker: Prior to the launch of SOCA, police officers who were seconded into National Crime Squad (NCS) and National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) were given the opportunity to become directly employed by the NCS. Most of the police officers took this opportunity. On 1 April 2006 1,104 police officers and 760 non-police staff transferred into SOCA from National Crime Squad as permanent staff. A further 72 police officers retained their secondment status on transfer. Seconded police officers will return to their home force on completion of their period of secondment. No police officers or support staff transferred onto SOCA's staff directly from a police force. Since April 2006 no police officers have been reassigned to SOCA.
	SOCA's functions are set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. They are to prevent and detect serious organised crime, to contribute to its reduction in other ways and the mitigation of its consequences. All SOCA officers in the UK and overseas are deployed in support of these functions.

Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Manpower

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) support staff (i) the Sussex branch and (ii) other UK operational regions of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency has at its disposal.

Vernon Coaker: As reported in SOCA's 2006-07 annual report, at the year end actual employment was at approximately 4,400 full-time equivalent staff. These represented a mix of staff from precursor agencies (NCIS, NCS, IND and HMRC), Government Departments, secondees and some new recruits.
	SOCA's functions are set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. They are to prevent and detect serious organised crime, to contribute to its reduction in other ways and the mitigation of its consequences. All SOCA officers in the UK and overseas are deployed in support of these functions.
	SOCA is not a police force. Its officers may be designated by the Director General with the powers of a Constable and/or Immigration Officer and/or Customs Officer dependent on operational need and on the basis of the capability, suitability and training of the individual officer. On 1 April 2006, 1,821 SOCA Officers were designated with the power of arrest.

Sexual Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted on charges relating to having sexual intercourse with an underage person in each police force in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last three years; what percentage of these cases resulted in a custodial sentence; and what the average length of the prison term was.

Vernon Coaker: The number of people  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted of charges related to having sexual intercourse with an underage person can be viewed in the following table.
	Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty at all courts, the percentage of defendants given immediate custody, and the average sentence length given to defendants sentenced at all courts for offences relating to various sexual offences with persons under the age of 16 years old by police force area in England and Wales, 2003 to 2005( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 166 115 108 70 76 47 
			 Bedfordshire 34 54 60 28 25 28 
			 Cambridgeshire 50 58 58 24 35 34 
			 Cheshire 88 79 79 42 48 44 
			 City of London — — 2 — — 1 
			 Cleveland 42 41 49 23 35 26 
			 Cumbria 39 50 40 30 27 25 
			 Derbyshire 104 99 113 57 69 48 
			 Devon and Cornwall 65 68 74 64 79 78 
			 Dorset 37 38 42 27 13 27 
			 Durham 69 65 74 41 47 40 
			 Essex 84 96 65 42 48 46 
			 Gloucestershire 38 39 40 23 15 22 
			 Greater Manchester 301 268 257 172 144 166 
			 Hampshire 205 205 149 98 104 86 
			 Hertfordshire 64 87 69 31 48 30 
			 Humberside 78 85 76 49 55 54 
			 Kent 104 102 80 76 57 71 
			 Lancashire 149 171 165 82 103 82 
			 Leicestershire 84 97 88 52 59 48 
			 Lincolnshire 51 86 64 .29 38 32 
			 Merseyside 89 107 73 58 75 53 
			 Metropolitan Police 540 442 462 219 217 176 
			 Norfolk 38 53 54 37 36 45 
			 North Yorkshire 52 52 44 33 42 26 
			 Northamptonshire 47 43 36 37 39 26 
			 Northumbria 128 101 96 78 75 56 
			 Nottinghamshire 120 146 111 59 73 63 
			 South Yorkshire 98 97 96 78 77 72 
			 Staffordshire 127 121 91 63 67 51 
			 Suffolk 51 47 58 24 30 41 
			 Surrey 59 40 63 26 29 16 
			 Sussex 103 82 94 56 46 41 
			 Thames Valley 109 103 138 58 61 60 
			 Warwickshire 29 28 35 22 19 21 
			 West Mercia 97 112 120 65 74 80 
			 West Midlands 339 330 224 168 188 137 
			 West Yorkshire 226 234 188 103 160 130 
			 Wiltshire 52 51 53 37 37 19 
			
			 England 4,156 4,092 3,788 2,281 2,470 2,148 
			 Dyfed-Powys 34 53 29 19 20 24 
			 Gwent 66 85 86 38 47 37 
			 North Wales 50 74 58 29 25 25 
			 South Wales 129 151 84 68 68 50 
			
			 Wales 279 363 257 154 160 136 
			
			 England and Wales 4,435 4,455 4,045 2,435 2,630 2,284 
		
	
	
		
			   Immediate Custody( 5)  (percentage)  Average sentence length (months)( 5) 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 66 69 65 38.9 48.8 35.7 
			 Bedfordshire 79 89 68 32.5 41.7 40.7 
			 Cambridgeshire 64 74 65 31 29.9 37.6 
			 Cheshire 68 64 68 40.7 52.1 49.8 
			 City of London — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland 77 66 72 55.7 47 59.3 
			 Cumbria 79 78 57 32.5 34 42.3 
			 Derbyshire 67 68 63 43.2 35.9 42.6 
			 Devon and Cornwall 56 78 65 55.3 37.8 41.3 
			 Dorset 70 69 78 43.7 37.6 29 
			 Durham 50 55 55 28.4 35.5 43.7 
			 Essex 74 65 73 33.6 37 30.7 
			 Gloucestershire 70 63 65 40.9 43.7 25.3 
			 Greater Manchester 62 56 66 39.3 38 38.1 
			 Hampshire 64 64 67 32.6 36 48.2 
			 Hertfordshire 87 69 87 45.6 30.1 45.1 
			 Humberside 63 65 68 34.6 39.8 41.8 
			 Kent 70 72 71 33.6 37.8 42.2 
			 Lancashire 78 71 73 31.1 38.8 50.4 
			 Leicestershire 63 57 61 50.8 45 38.5 
			 Lincolnshire 45 59 69 44.4 38.2 46.7 
			 Merseyside 61 78 76 35.7 43.9 55.2 
			 Metropolitan Police 72 72 74 43.5 46.1 44.1 
			 Norfolk 86 81 77 40.8 31.4 34.1 
			 North Yorkshire 56 74 81 33.2 48.3 51.1 
			 Northamptonshire 84 73 77 44.8 49.2 41.9 
			 Northumbria 50 56 63 48.8 42.5 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 67 58 61 43 39.4 46.1 
			 South Yorkshire 62 74 60 46.3 45.1 61.1 
			 Staffordshire 73 51 55 41.5 35.2 44.2 
			 Suffolk 74 71 67 48.1 35 38.8 
			 Surrey 52 52 63 26.1 20.8 28.5 
			 Sussex 75 78 73 44.4 51.3 41.8 
			 Thames Valley 66 68 69 42.4 41.6 45.8 
			 Warwickshire 54 44 82 39 41 48.2 
			 West Mercia 65 60 61 34.2 27.7 25.6 
			 West Midlands 56 52 64 38.8 39.4 51.4 
			 West Yorkshire 49 63 63 34.3 44.8 43.8 
			 Wiltshire 60 64 72 42.8 49.7 22.8 
			
			 England 65 65 67 39.9 40.5 42.9 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 50 65 74 31.6 57.8 39.9 
			 Gwent 62 60 72 51.7 42.6 32.1 
			 North Wales 48 73 68 38.6 39.3 37.2 
			 South Wales 75 70 60 41.3 56 43 
			
			 Wales 64 67 67 94.3 118.4 104.1 
			
			 England and Wales 65 65 67 40.1 41.2 42.7 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes data from the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 1 May 2003. (4) Data includes those offences where there has been unlawful sexual intercourse and the age of the victim has been specified as being under 16 years of age in the offence description. (5) Care should be taken when using the immediate custody and average sentence length data, as in a number of instances force data is based on less than 100 cases. Immediate custody data includes those offenders given life sentences etc. (and may include indeterminate sentences). Average sentence length (months) does not include life sentences and indeterminate sentence lengths.  Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Terrorism: Finance

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the sources of funding for extremist imams in the UK; and which countries have been identified as sources of funding.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office has made no assessment about the sources of funding for extremist imams in the UK. However, the Government are undertaking a range of measures to tackle violent extremism, which includes strengthening the role of faith institutions and leaders, further details of which can found in the Communities and Local Government publication 'Preventing Violent Extremism' (http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id =1506079) and a public consultation, run by the Home Office and HM Treasury, on how charitable organisations can best be safeguarded from exploitation (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Charities_consultation.pdf?view=Binary).

Valuation Office Agency: Surveillance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner has provided to the Valuation Office Agency on the practice of inspections and surveillance for valuation purposes.

Tony McNulty: The Office of Surveillance Commissioners has not given the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) any advice or guidance, nor been asked to, in relation to conduct undertaken by the agency for the purpose of valuing properties for council tax. The Agency does not carry out surveillance of individuals and does not operate covertly, and its officers always identify themselves as VOA officers when carrying out their duties.

Warehouse Parties

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle illegal rave activity.

Vernon Coaker: The Government and the police are clear that illegal rave activity is not acceptable and are committed to tackling the disorder and antisocial behaviour associated with raves which intimidates and alienates local communities.
	The police are equipped with a range of powers to deal with raves. Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows police to direct rave goers to leave an event. Following reports of problems with raves in buildings such as barns, the police were given powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to direct participants at indoor raves to leave buildings where trespass is involved, and to include events of 20 or more people. The Government have also made it a criminal offence for a person on whom a direction under section 63 has been served to attend any rave within 24 hours of the direction being given.

Work Permits: Doctors

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation was carried out with the NHS and its associated bodies prior to the implementation of the new immigration rules on how the rules would affect foreign national doctors employed by the NHS.

John Reid: On 7 November, the Government announced changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant programme (HSMP). These changes included the removal of a GP Priority category, which awarded points to GPs registered with the General Medical Council, on the strength that the increase in funding for doctors' training has increased the number of qualified GPs available, removing the need for special arrangements to attract GPs from abroad.
	The removal of the GPs provision was agreed with the Department of Health and cleared across Government.
	It is not the Government's intention to disqualify highly-skilled applicants with medical qualifications, who could still qualify under the new HSMP criteria.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the carbon price necessary to achieve the Government's carbon dioxide reduction objectives.

Ian Pearson: The Government do not set or seek a particular price for carbon allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. As it is a Market Mechanism the Government believe it is the role of the market to establish the carbon price. The Government's role is to ensure sufficient scarcity in the market and its proper functioning.

Biomass Industry

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on Government support for the biomass industry in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I have regular contact with ministerial colleagues on a range of biomass issues. The Energy White Paper and the UK Biomass Strategy set out the Government's commitment to increasing the use of biomass and the support needed to achieve our goals.

GM and Non-GM Crops

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to modify the minimum separation distances between GM and non-GM crops.

Ian Pearson: We are still considering the responses to the proposed coexistence separation distances we set out for consultation last year.

Recycling Advice

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance his Department provides to businesses to improve their management of waste, with particular reference to recycling.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme is returning £284 million of landfill tax receipts to businesses, over the three years to March 2008, through targeted waste projects designed to help them increase recycling, minimise waste and improve resource efficiency. The Waste and Resources Action Programme is helping businesses in a range of sectors to recycle more and landfill less.

Abandoned Vehicles

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned cars were recorded in  (a) Suffolk,  (b) Bedfordshire,  (c) Cambridgeshire,  (d) Essex,  (e) Hertfordshire,  (f) Norfolk and  (g) England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Data on the number of abandoned vehicles both removed and destroyed by local authorities or their agents are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Numbers of abandoned vehicles (thousands) 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 (a) Suffolk 2.5 4.3 4.8 3.2 3.3 2.0 
			 (b) Bedfordshire 4.4 8.8 9.1 7.3 3.4 2.4 
			 (c) Cambridgeshire 3.2 5.1 5.4 4.9 2.8 2.7 
			 (d) Essex 12.0 14.2 14.0 10.5 5.4 5.9 
			 (e) Hertfordshire 7.0 7.6 9.1 7.3 3.1 2.0 
			 (f) Norfolk 1.4 2.3 2.5 2.1 1.7 1.3 
			 England 223.5 284.4 291.7 221.1 150.2 126.1 
		
	
	Results, which include estimated values for authorities not responding, are available for each year from 2000-01 to 2005-06. Prior to 2000-01, this information was not collected by this Department.
	Results are recorded collectively from district councils within each county council area. Results from the four unitary authorities have been included with their county of original origin, hence: Luton DA with Bedfordshire, Peterborough UA with Cambridgeshire and Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock UAs with Essex.
	 Source:
	DEFRA municipal waste statistics.

Agricultural Products: Prices

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average retail price was of  (a) apples,  (b) beef,  (c) cabbages,  (d) carrots,  (e) chicken,  (f) eggs,  (g) lamb,  (h) onions,  (i) pork,  (j) potatoes,  (k) tomatoes,  (l) wheat and  (m) milk in each year since 1995.

Barry Gardiner: The retail prices from 1995 up to 2006 for the listed commodities are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Commodity   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Apples - cooking p per kg 91 111 120 127 104 107 118 117 148 150 144 144 
			 Apples - dessert p per kg 100 112 112 105 103 108 116 121 127 125 118 122 
			 Beef — home-killed topside p per kg — 543 628 610 637 625 641 660 660 688 663 721 
			 Cabbage hearts p per kg 70 77 66 66 58 55 67 66 61 60 57 56 
			 Carrots p per kg 54 56 47 54 49 45 61 55 55 57 64 65 
			 Chicken—fresh/chille p per kg — 182 236 226 220 223 227 224 228 232 230 224 
			 Eggs - size 2 (65-70g) p per dozen 138 158 159 152 161 168 172 172 168 169 171 181 
			 Eggs -size 4 (55-60g) p per dozen 119 136 138 131 138 138 152 152 154 155 155 165 
			 Lamb—home-killed shoulder inc bone p per kg — 343 371 317 323 340 354 379 426 424 402 423 
			 Lamb—home-killed loin (with bone) p per kg — 757 864 792 835 855 893 971 1010 1025 986 1069 
			 Onions p per kg 76 59 56 65 52 56 65 69 62 62 66 61 
			 Pork—home-killed loin (with bone) p per kg — 439 496 436 422 446 455 479 481 506 502 518 
			 Pork—home-killed boneless shoulder p per kg — — 341 286 280 307 336 336 333 341 328 334 
			 Potatoes - old white p per kg 37 30 35 52 42 32 63 57 52 60 45 48 
			 Potatoes - new loose p per kg 60 56 54 77 71 70 87 87 89 96 84 80 
			 Tomatoes p per kg 114 129 117 123 124 150 125 140 149 129 142 132 
			 Flour - self raising p per kg 38 39 40 41 41 40 40 40 41 45 43 44 
			 Milk - Pasteurised p per litre 64 63 62 60 60 60 64 64 64 62 61 61 
			  Source: Office of National Statistics, consumer price indices, RPI average retail price of selected items

Agriculture: Subsidies

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what percentage of single farm payment scheme claims have been paid for  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006 (i) in part and (ii) in full in (A) North West Cambridgeshire, (B) the East of England and (C) England and Wales.

Barry Gardiner: In England, as of 13 June 2007, 20 claimants have not received a payment for the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS).
	As of 13 June 2007, 105,415 farmers have received either a full or partial payment under the 2006 SPS year. This total includes 101,890 full and 3,525 partial payments, representing 96.7 per cent. of the estimated total claimant population of 109,000.
	RPA's target is to pay 96.14 per cent. of the total value of the fund by 30 June 2007.
	Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.
	The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for administering the SPS in Wales.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of farmers are yet to receive their full single payment scheme payment for  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006 in (i) the UK, (ii) the South West and (iii) Cornwall.

Barry Gardiner: In England, as of 13 June 2007, 20 claimants have not received a payment for the 2005 single payment scheme (SPS).
	As of 13 June 2007, 105,415 of farmers have received either a full or partial payment under the 2006 SPS year. This total includes 101,890 full and 3,525 partial payments, representing 96.7 per cent. of the estimated total claimant population of 109,000.
	RPA's target is to pay 96.14 per cent. of the total value of the fund by 30 June 2007.
	Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Carbon Dioxide: Environment Protection

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likelihood of reaching the target of a 60 per cent. carbon dioxide reduction by 2020.

Ian Pearson: The measures in the Energy White Paper, and those they build on, are expected to achieve a reduction of up to 26 per cent. in carbon dioxide over 1990 levels by 2020. This would put us on track to achieve real progress towards our goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least 60 per cent. by 2050.

Carbon Sequestration

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State of Trade and Industry on the development in the UK of technology for carbon capture and storage.

Ian Pearson: I regularly meet my Cabinet colleague to discuss a wide range of energy and environmental issues—including carbon capture and storage, where DTI and DEFRA both have a strong interest.

Carbon Trading Allowances

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to introduce personal carbon trading allowances.

David Miliband: The Government are looking at the feasibility of personal carbon trading allowances and a range of other long-term options to help individuals feel more informed and involved in tackling climate change.

Commercial Whaling

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department made at the recent conference of the International Whaling Commission on the moratorium on commercial whaling.

Barry Gardiner: Since the UK and the anti-whaling bloc had a simple majority at this year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), we were able to sponsor and secure a resolution reaffirming the continued need for the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. This resolution subsequently served us well in the conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, enabling us to defeat proposals aimed at eventually allowing trade in whale products to take place.

Consumption: Sustainable Development

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the development of a national sustainable consumption programme.

Ian Pearson: Action to promote more sustainable consumption by citizens is being taken forward under a range of policies, including the recent Energy White Paper and the Waste Strategy.
	In addition, to help develop policies further in future, DEFRA has been working on an environmental behaviour change framework, applying a social marketing approach to major areas of consumption. This work has included workshops organised by Green Alliance and a Stakeholder Forum covering 100 stakeholders from the public sector, business, NGOs, academia and marketing. The outputs from these discussions and further consumer research will help us to further develop this work later this year.
	DEFRA has launched an online calculator that enables people to work out their carbon footprint. The calculator is part of DEFRA's Act on CO2 campaign which aims to make people aware of the link between their own everyday behaviour—including the consumption and use of products—and climate change.

Departments: Epilepsy

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people with epilepsy are employed by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA does not hold data on the number of employees with epilepsy. DEFRA requests staff to declare types of impairment on a disability declaration but does not keep data of specific conditions.
	DEFRA has a Disability Factsheet Series that is available to all staff. One of these factsheets is a specific guide to epilepsy. The guide includes suggestions of what to discuss with a member of staff who has declared the condition and also the types of reasonable adjustments that may be made for individuals. It includes information of the causes and features of the condition as well as advice on what to do if someone has a seizure.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff funded by the public purse in the Rural Payments Agency are classified as people without posts.

Barry Gardiner: No staff in the Rural Payments Agency are classified as people without posts.

Departments: Public Participation

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of his Department's administration costs was spent on running public consultations in 2006-07;
	(2)  how many civil servants in his Department worked on public consultations in the 2006-07 financial year;
	(3)  how many public consultations his Department has undertaken since its institution.

Barry Gardiner: Since its institution in June 2001 until December 2006, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has undertaken 581 public consultations.
	The breakdown, per year, is as follows:
	
		
			 June 2001-December 2001 50 
			 January 2002-December 2002 91 
			 January 2003-December 2003 112 
			 January 2004-December 2004 120 
			 January 2005-December 2005 100 
			 January 2006-December 2006 108 
		
	
	Each consultation is worked on by policy staff from the Department but information is not held about the proportion of the Department's administration costs that are spent on running public consultations.
	Similarly, information is not held centrally about the number of civil servants in the Department who worked on public consultations in the last financial year. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Surveys

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library copies of his Department's employee surveys for  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007.

Barry Gardiner: Staff surveys are valuable tools used by Departments to help them improve performance. The results of the 2005 DEFRA survey are available on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/news/staff_survey/index.asp
	DEFRA's approach has been to undertake a full staff survey every 18 months. As such, the most recent published results are for 2005. A new staff survey is planned for June 2007 and these results will be published on the civil service website once the full analysis of data has taken place.

Departments: Travel Agents

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies' fees in each year since 1997.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the amount (including VAT) paid by core DEFRA in travel agencies' fees in each financial year commencing with 2001-02 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 28,256.40 
			 2002-03 49,601.45 
			 2003-04 73,477.45 
			 2004-05 84,238.10 
			 2005-06 133,132.20 
			 2006-07 (April-December 2006) 144,172.50 
		
	
	Expenditure on travel agencies' fees by DEFRA's Executive agencies is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Dog Breeders: Regulation

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the monitoring and regulation of dog breeders by local authorities.

Ben Bradshaw: Discussions between the Departments in 2005 concluded it was better to see how the Kennel Club's Accredited Breeder scheme progressed before reviewing the existing regulations on dog breeding.

Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has commissioned or undertaken into the average costs of (i) alternate weekly collection and (ii) weekly collection of household rubbish.

Ben Bradshaw: A Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) research project is currently in progress, entitled "Cost and Performance—Collection Systems". Phase 1 is analysing the cost models used by a number of consultants active in the municipal waste management sector, with the aim of comparing and estimating the costs of a number of common waste collection systems, including alternate week collection. Phase 2 will involve a detailed appraisal of the costs and performance of the more common kerbside recycling and collection systems, again including alternate week collection. A full report will be available later this year.
	DEFRA and WRAP have also funded work to appraise different waste collection options for particular local authorities, in some cases looking at alternate week collection, following requests from these authorities.

EU Inspire Directive

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the implementation of the EU INSPIRE Directive.

Ian Pearson: European Parliament Directive 2007/2/EC, establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE), came into force on 15 May 2007. Member states have two years to transpose it into national legislation.
	A series of technical implementing rules will accompany the directive. These are currently being developed by several drafting teams under the auspices of the European Commission. They include Implementing Rules on the interoperability and, where practicable, harmonisation of spatial data sets.
	The Implementing Rules will be subject to expert and public review. DEFRA and other Government organisations are participating in this process. In addition, as part of the process for developing the interoperability implementing rules, the Commission (with input from member states) will undertake analyses to ensure that the rules are feasible and proportionate in terms of their likely costs and benefits. They will be adopted between 2008 and 2012 and come into force between 2010 and 2019.
	On 16 May 2007, the Commission published an INSPIRE Work Programme for development of the Implementing Rules during the transposition phase. This contained a roadmap for the development and implementation of the Implementation Rules.
	The Implementing Rules will be adopted through the Comitology procedure. The first meeting of the INSPIRE Committee will be on 26 June 2007.

Fisheries: Bankruptcy

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of fishermen were declared bankrupt in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) the UK in each year since 1979.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department does not hold the information requested. Although data on the number of individuals filing for bankruptcy are collected, these are not at a sufficient level of detail to allow for numbers of fishermen to be identified.

Fisheries: National Income

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the gross value added (GVA) and proportion of total GVA of fishing in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) the UK was in each year since 1979.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department does not hold the information requested.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements he has made to deal with liability in the event that BASF's genetically modified potato trials cause damage to the local economies, environment or health.

Ian Pearson: No specific arrangements have been made. The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) is satisfied that the trials will not have any adverse effect on human health or the environment. It is also difficult to see how the trials might unreasonably prejudice local economies. A concern has been raised about a possible indirect impact on growers of borage and this is being considered by BASF.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Standards

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence he considered before agreeing to the 0.9 per cent. threshold for genetically modified organisms in the new organic standards adopted on 12 June 2007.

Ian Pearson: We share the view of the Commission and most other member states, that it would be too difficult and costly for organic producers to apply a GM threshold significantly lower than 0.9 per cent. It would imply, for example, that the organic supply chain would need to undertake widespread testing where products were liable to have an unintended GM presence. Such testing is expensive and time-consuming. During discussions, organic stakeholder groups indicated that they did not favour including a threshold below 0.9 per cent. in the EU organic production regulation.

Land: Contamination

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department last assessed the available technologies for cleaning up contaminated land.

Ben Bradshaw: The choice of technologies for the remediation of land contamination is a matter for those responsible for taking action at a particular site. My Department has helped fund the Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) organisation, which provides independent reports on trials of individual technologies in this field.

Land: Contamination

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has targets for making good contaminated land.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department has not set targets for the remediation of contaminated land.
	In April 2000, part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 created a new framework for the identification and remediation of contaminated land in England, in circumstances where there has not been any identifiable breach of a current pollution prevention regime.
	The framework places a duty on local authorities in England to identify contaminated land in their area, and to ensure that the appropriate remedial action is taken. Where land has been identified as 'contaminated land', the local authority will seek the person who caused or knowingly permitted the presence of the substances causing the problem to carry out any necessary remedial works. Where this person cannot be found, for example because a company is no longer in existence, the landowner may be the appropriate person, subject to detailed rules in the Act and the accompanying guidance (DEFRA Circular 01/2006).
	The regime allows for voluntary remediation, and also for the authority to carry out remediation on behalf of those considered liable, allowing the authority to recover the cost. As a last resort, the authority can serve a remediation notice requiring work to be done, subject to the usual right of appeal. The regime also recognises that remediation can also be secured through the planning system in appropriate cases.

Low Carbon Building Programme

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues from the Department of Trade and Industry on the environmental consequences of changes to the Low Carbon Building programme.

David Miliband: I regularly meet my Cabinet colleagues to discuss policies, including microgeneration technologies and the renewables market, where DTI and DEFRA both have a key role to play in their successful delivery.

Nature Conservation: Severn Estuary

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of designating the Severn estuary as a special area of conservation; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: I am currently considering a proposal from our statutory conservation advisers to notify the Severn estuary to the European Commission as a candidate special area of conservation and hope to be able to make a statement on this soon.

Nuclear Power: Japan

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the joint UK-Japan workshop on achieving a sustainable low-carbon society held from 13 to 15 June included discussion of nuclear power co-operation and development.

Ian Pearson: Discussions took place on the scale of investment needed for the deployment of cleaner technologies and on the mechanisms that can mobilise investment. There was no specific discussion on nuclear power co-operation and development.

Packaging: Wastes

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what measurements were taken of the amount of packaging waste produced by each of the signatories to the Courtauld Commitment when the Commitment was signed in July 2005;
	(2)  what measurements will be used to assess reductions in packaging waste in relation to the Courtauld Commitment.

Ben Bradshaw: Each of the signatories to the Courtauld Commitment is an obligated company for the purposes of the Packaging Regulations and declares their total packaging use each year to the relevant regulators.
	The Courtauld Commitment objectives relate to primary packaging taken home by consumers. When I met the signatories last November, I asked them to agree a protocol with the Waste and Resources Action Programme for reporting progress in a consistent and transparent way. A draft protocol is currently being consulted on, with a view to it being agreed and implemented in this reporting year.

Radioactive Wastes: Waste Management

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent by the Government on research and development on deep geological disposal of radioactive waste since (i) the end of the NIREX Inquiry in April 1997 and (ii) November 2006.

Ian Pearson: The Government spent about £0.5 million on research and development (R&D) on deep geological disposal of radioactive waste between April 1997 and November 2006. We have not spent on R&D in this area since then. However, the main expenditure on deep geological disposal R&D during these periods has been by United Kingdom Nirex Limited (Nirex). The Government owned Nirex from April 2005 until November 2006, when it became part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). This is funded by Government through the Department of Trade and Industry and, partially, through its commercial activities. During the period of Government ownership of Nirex, the company was largely funded by the NDA, with a small additional percentage coming from the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
	The following table shows the expenditure on R&D on geological disposal while Nirex was in Government ownership, and expenditure from November 2006 until end of May 2007 by the NDA following the acquisition and integration of Nirex into the NDA. Prior to April 2005, Nirex R&D activities were funded by its nuclear industry shareholders and the MOD.
	
		
			  From  Until  Approximate expenditure (£ million) 
			 1 April 2005 31 March 2006 12 
			 1 April 2006 end October 2006 7 
			 November 2006 end March 2007 9 
			 April 2007 end May 2007 2

Recycling: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on amending the performance indicator applicable to local councils in respect of recycling levels to reflect performance in terms of waste minimisation.

Ben Bradshaw: The recently published Waste Strategy 2007 put forward a range of measures to reduce waste arisings and build on recent improvements in recycling. A greater focus on waste prevention has been recognised through a new target to reduce the amount of household waste not re-used, recycled or composted, from over 22.2 million tonnes in 2000 by 29 per cent. to 15.8 million tonnes in 2010, with an aspiration to reduce it to 12.2 million tonnes in 2020—a reduction of 45 per cent. This is equivalent to a fall of 50 per cent. per person (from 450 kg per person in 2000 to 225 kg in 2020).
	Waste minimisation is not directly measured by any of the Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI). However, it is reflected in BVPI 84a, which measures kilograms of household waste collected per head of population. In addition, household waste sent for reuse, including items such as furniture delivered to civic amenity sites, would be excluded from the calculation of BVPI 82.
	In October 2006, the Government published the local government White Paper, "Strong and Prosperous Communities". This set out a new vision for delivering better public services through a rebalancing of the relationship between central Government, local government and local people. Local public service providers will be given more freedom to bring about the changes they want to see. The White Paper sets out a radical simplification of the local authority performance framework including fewer indicators and centrally set targets. This means that 2007-08 will be the final year of best value indicators and targets.
	Indicators in the new framework will reflect national outcomes, to be agreed later this year in the comprehensive spending review 2007, which will be delivered through local area agreements. The future framework will enable local authorities to contribute to an overall waste outcome that leads us towards more sustainable management of waste in England, focused on minimising the amounts of municipal waste produced and landfilled.

Renewable Energy

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the development of a renewable energy and efficiency partnership.

Ian Pearson: The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) was established in 2003 in response to the world summit on sustainable development. REEEP has been recognised by the G8 in the outcomes of Gleneagles, St Petersburg and Heiligendamm as a key delivery vehicle for accelerating the uptake of renewables and energy efficiency in developing countries.
	REEEP has over 200 partners, including over 35 governments and a global network of eight secretariats based in leading energy organisations around the world. It has also developed strong links with the private sector, academia and international bodies such as the World Bank, UN agencies and the International Energy Agency.
	DEFRA provides funding to REEEP of £2.5 million each year for 2005-08. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided funding of £1 million each year for 2004-06. Several Governments, notably the US, Australia, a number of EU states and Norway now also provide funding.
	REEEP is well positioned to support future action on climate change and is already beginning to scale up and replicate its successful interventions. As the partnership develops it is now able to engage more strategically with key government, international bodies and the private sector in support of UK energy and climate objectives, and act as a platform for international co-operation on these issues.

Waste Disposal: Microprocessors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action programme has issued on the use of microchips or radio frequency identity tags in domestic rubbish or recycling bins.

Ben Bradshaw: No specific guidance on the use of microchips or radio frequency identity tags has been issued by either my Department or the Waste and Resources Action programme.
	Microchips installed on wheelie bins are identification tags which allow a bin to be matched to a particular property—they do not record information on what is put into the bin. It is up to local authorities to decide whether to install the chips. Authorities that have installed microchips have used them to identify lost bins or, when used with weighing trucks, to monitor levels of waste created in different neighbourhoods and target information and education accordingly.

Waste Management

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures his Department has put in place to reduce its waste arisings; and what the quantitative impact of each measure has been.

Ben Bradshaw: Each site within the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has a programme of waste reduction measures appropriate to their site in order to enable them to meet the sustainable operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets. Performance information is continually monitored and reported quarterly and collated into a central report.
	Latest performance data show that the total waste arisings for the Department have decreased by 8.12 per cent. from 5,716 tonnes in 2005-06 to 5,252 tonnes in 2006-07.
	In order to further reduce waste arisings, we are about to conduct trials of other measures, which we hope will further reduce our waste output.

Water Companies: Standards

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures he is taking to ensure that water companies reduce leakages from water pipes.

Ian Pearson: Leakage targets are set, monitored and enforced by the Economic Regulator, Ofwat, which also determines the regulatory action needed when companies fail their leakage targets.

Whales: Conservation

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likelihood of securing a majority in the International Whaling Commission for a complete ban on commercial whaling;
	(2)  what measures to protect whales were agreed at the recent International Whaling Commission meeting.

Ben Bradshaw: Since the UK and the anti-whaling bloc had a simple majority at this year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), we were able to sponsor and secure several key resolutions: calling on Japan to halt its lethal "scientific" research programme; promoting the non-lethal use of cetaceans; and reaffirming the continued need for the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. This last resolution subsequently served us well in the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, enabling us to defeat proposals aimed at eventually allowing trade in whale products to take place.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance produced by the Valuation Office Agency on sending questionnaires to householders for council tax valuation purposes.

Ruth Kelly: The guidance is currently being updated to reflect feedback from customer working groups. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House when it is available.

Departments: Advertisements

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much revenue her Department received from advertisements on its  (a) public information leaflets and  (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department's general policy is not to accept advertisements for public information leaflets produced by the Communications Directorate or for its main corporate website. Information on this subject covering our leaflets and the range of our websites over the last 10 years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the last year, no advertisements have been accepted for public information leaflets produced by the Communications Directorate or for the corporate website.

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in her Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on home working.

Angela Smith: At present no records are kept centrally on requests to work from home for part of the week as this is a local agreement between staff and the line manager.
	Communities and Local Government supports all forms of flexible working and is currently reviewing its policy to make it clearer for staff and line managers to understand the balance between the work we need to do and the achievement of a successful work/life balance, including home working arrangements.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in her Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Angela Smith: For staff for whom the information requested is available, the numbers requested are:
	
		
			   Male  Female  Disabled  Aged 55 or over 
			  2006-07 
			 Temporary part-time 0 0 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 28 27 0 4 
			 Permanent part-time 2 10 0 2 
			 Permanent full-time 138 150 7 12 
			  2005-06 
			 Temporary part-time 1 0 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 28 16 0 2 
			 Permanent part-time 0 3 0 0 
			 Permanent full-time 61 78 2 4 
			  
			  2004-05 
			 Temporary part-time 0 0 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 46 44 0 3 
			 Permanent part-time 2 8 0 3 
			 Permanent full-time 120 135 9 14

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of staff in her Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

Angela Smith: At 31 May 2007 percentages of staff, for whom information is available, is as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Male 52.9 
			 Female 47.1 
			 Disabled 6.5 
			 Aged 55 years or over 11.4

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) services and  (b) products her Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Angela Smith: Communities and Local Government has only purchased one service in the last 12 months from Remploy. This was for binding documents and cost £307.80.

Departments: Research

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list all the unpublished research commissioned from  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations outside her Department which was supplied to her Department and its predecessor in each year since 2002.

Angela Smith: Details of projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government research programmes are available from our Research Management Database (RMD) at http://www.rmd.communities.gov.uk. This includes information about publications associated with individual projects. Research is also funded from non-research budgets.

Departments: Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average number of days per year was taken by staff in her Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Angela Smith: The average working days lost per staff year for four of the past five calendar years are set out in the following table. Information for the calendar year 2006 is not yet available.
	
		
			   Department identity  Average working days lost per staff year 
			 2005 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 5.7 
			 2004 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 5.0 
			 2003 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 6.0 
			 2002 Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 7.7 
			  Source: Figures are taken from the annual series of reports "Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/occupational_health/publications/index.asp

Departments: Sign Language

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of providing British Sign Language (BSL) videos on her departmental website for the benefit of those whose first language is BSL.

Angela Smith: The Department would consider the need to provide a version of individual publications in British Sign Language on a case-by-case basis.

Derelict Land: Contamination

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of brownfield sites are on  (a) contaminated and  (b) recently decontaminated land in (i) England and (ii) East Anglia.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the numbers of contaminated sites is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Performance Certificates

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the objectives of energy performance certificates are with regard to the reduction of  (a) carbon emissions and  (b) fuel costs.

Yvette Cooper: Energy performance certificates will give people energy ratings and recommend measures to make improvements to the energy performance of buildings, helping them to reduce fuel bills and cut carbon emissions.

Energy Performance Certificates: EC Law

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which EU directive requires UK homes to have an energy performance certificate; and what its implementation date is.

Yvette Cooper: The directive that requires UK homes (and indeed other buildings) to have an Energy Performance Certificate is Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings. The implementation date was January 2006. However the directive allows an additional period of up to three years to apply fully the requirements for Energy Performance Certificates where there is a shortage of trained and/or accredited assessors.

Fire Prevention

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she intends to require a single enforcing authority for fire safety in residential accommodation under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Angela Smith: Premises occupied as a private dwelling are not covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and so residential accommodation is not covered unless that accommodation is a workplace. Fire and rescue authorities are the enforcing authority for premises which do not fall within any of the exceptions in article 25 (b)-(e) of the 2005 Order 2005.

Fire Services: Public Appointments

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what process will be used to appoint members of the Regional Fire Management Boards.

Angela Smith: It is for Fire and Rescue Authorities to decide the criteria by which representation and appointments will be made, subject to any statutory constraints.
	The Department worked closely with the Local Government Association to establish voluntary Regional Management Boards (RMBs) in all English Regions outside London. All were constituted as joint committees under Section 102 (l)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972. Under Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, a Fire and Rescue Authority's appointments to a joint committee must reflect an Authority's political balance where each constituent authority appoints three or more members to the RMB.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the introduction of home information packs on the stability of the housing market.

Yvette Cooper: We published our assessment of the introduction of home information packs on 11 June 2007.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the research which her Department or its predecessor has  (a) commissioned and  (b) undertaken into the effect of introducing home information packs on the economy.

Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government commissioned Europe Economics to carry out independent research into the potential impact of introducing home information packs on the housing market. The results of the research will be published in due course.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what factors were taken into account when deciding whether to undertake a public consultation exercise in relation to the new plans to introduce home information packs on 1 August only for homes with four or more bedrooms.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State to the House on 22 May 2007.

Housing: Armed Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether service personnel may be accepted as having a local connection for the purposes of social housing if they grew up in the same area in which they served; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the joint ministerial statement laid in the House by the Minister for Housing and Planning and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Twigg) on 21 June 2007.

Housing: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic dwellings in England are currently assigned the value significant code of  (a) FC and  (b) FP in each local authority area for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The VOA has not undertaken a comprehensive exercise to gather value significant coding information on all domestic dwellings in England.

Land: Databases

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will list the data sources for the National Land and Property Gazetteer database;
	(2)  which department or agency is responsible for the National Land and Property Gazetteer.

Angela Smith: The National Land and Property Gazetteer is the responsibility of the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). The IDeA is owned by the Local Government Association and belongs to local government.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of implications for Government policy of the High Court judgment on the application of Shrewsbury and Atcham district council for judicial review in relation to local government re-organisation; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The court has granted permission for a full hearing on three of Shrewsbury and Congleton's four grounds. The court refused their application for interim relief and hence we will be continuing with our original restructuring timetable. As this matter is currently before the courts, it would not be appropriate to say more than that we believe we have acted entirely appropriately and within our powers, and will contest vigorously the remaining elements of Shrewsbury and Congleton's claim.

Rented Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many residential lettings were marketed in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the last year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Information on how many residential lettings were marketed in England and Wales is not held centrally.
	However the Survey of English Housing (SEH) asks private renters how long they have been in their current accommodation. In 2005-06, 960,000 of the estimated 2.5 million private renters in England had been resident for less than 12 months.

Repossession Orders: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many orders for repossession were  (a) applied for and  (b) granted to Eastbourne borough council in each of the last 10 years.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows the number of orders for landlord possession applied for and granted to Eastbourne borough council for each year since 2001, the earliest year for which we have consistent data.
	
		
			  Number of landlord possession orders( 1)  applied for and granted to Eastbourne  borough council, 2001 - 06 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Eastbourne borough council   
			 Applied for 39 44 84 48 66 102 
			 Granted to 22 38 57 52 43 74 
			
			  England  and  Wales (Thousands)   
			 Applied for 175 177 159 154 144 134 
			 Granted to 116 118 107 102 97 89 
			 (1) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. 
		
	
	These figures do not indicate how many properties have been repossessed through the courts, since not all orders result in the properties actually being repossessed.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Transport

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of passengers travelling to and from  (a) Stansted,  (b) Bristol and  (c) Manchester airport by (i) private motor vehicles, (ii) taxis, (iii) rail and (iv) coach or bus in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Information on number of passengers travelling to and from UK airports by each mode of surface transport is published in table 9 of the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) "Passenger Survey Report". Reports for each of the last five years can be found on the CAA website:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=81&pagetype=90&pageid=7640
	Stansted and Manchester were surveyed in each of the last five years. Bristol airport was surveyed in 2003 only.

Airports: Transport

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of passengers travelling to and from  (a) Newcastle,  (b) Bristol,  (c) Gatwick,  (d) Luton,  (e) Birmingham,  (f) Cardiff and  (g) Leeds/Bradford airport by (i) private motor vehicle, (ii) taxi, (iii) rail and (iv) coach and bus in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Information on number of passengers travelling to and from UK airports by each mode of surface transport is published in table 9 of the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) "Passenger Survey Report". Reports for each of the last five years can be found on the CAA website:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=81&pagetype=90&pageid=7640.
	Gatwick and Luton were surveyed in each of the last five years; Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff were surveyed in 2003 only; Newcastle and Leeds/Bradford were surveyed in 2005 only.

Aviation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many airports  (a) which have runway development plans approved in the Future of Air Transport White Paper and  (b) where land is safeguarded for future development have implemented voluntary plans to tackle generalised blight;
	(2)  which of the airports  (a) which have runway development plans approved in the Future of Air Transport White Paper and  (b) where land is safeguarded for future development have implemented voluntary schemes to address general blight.

Gillian Merron: "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper invited airport operators to bring forward voluntary schemes to address generalised blight where new runways are supported by the White Paper or where land is safeguarded for future development. The Government published a progress report in December 2006, reaffirming their commitment to the strategy set out in the White Paper. BAA has implemented voluntary blight schemes at Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. Schemes have also been introduced by the operators of Birmingham and Luton airports.

Aviation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many UK airports have safeguarded land for future development.

Gillian Merron: This is a matter for airport operators in conjunction with local planning authorities. Airport master plans, encouraged in "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper, do, however, set out airport-specific development proposals in detail. Most airports have now published master plans on their websites.

Aviation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which UK airports had runway development approved in the Future of Air Transport White Paper.

Gillian Merron: "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper does not authorise or preclude particular development, but sets out a policy framework against which interested parties can plan ahead and which will guide decisions on future planning applications. The Government published a progress report in December 2006, reaffirming its commitment to the strategy set out in the White Paper. In the South East, the White Paper supports a second runway at Stansted and an additional runway at Heathrow, providing strict environmental conditions can be met. A new runway at Birmingham and the safeguarding of land at Edinburgh for a new runway are also supported.

Aviation: Noise

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many UK airports with over 50,000 movements per year have produced strategic noise maps.

Gillian Merron: Under the Environmental Noise Directive, airports with over 50,000 movements per year are required to submit noise maps to the Department by 30 June 2007. To date, 12 airports have submitted maps. Outstanding maps for other airports are expected by the end of June. Airports have been encouraged to publish these maps on their websites.

Aviation: Security

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK arising from those additional security restrictions on the number of pieces of hand baggage for passengers departing UK airports which are not applied to passengers arriving in the UK on flights from overseas countries.

Gillian Merron: The UK limit on the number of items of cabin baggage permitted was introduced as part of a package of security measures which has enabled airlines to keep flying safely in the face of a very serious and continuing threat. Like all security measures, it is being kept under review and will be maintained only for as long as it is necessary.

Aviation: Security

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparative research his Department has assessed on the level of security and hand baggage restrictions in place in UK airports and those in  (a) other EU countries and  (b) the US.

Gillian Merron: UK restrictions on the size and number of items of cabin baggage permitted are part of a package of security measures reflecting the higher level of threat currently facing the UK compared to other states. The UK is aligned with other EU member states and the US on the controls limiting liquids being carried through airport search points. Research continues, with international partners, to quantify the security benefits of limiting the size of cabin baggage. Like all security measures, the limit on the number of cabin bags is being kept under review and will be maintained only for as long as is necessary.

Aviation: Security

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had from business leaders on the security and hand baggage restrictions on UK air travellers.

Gillian Merron: The Secretary of State has received written representations from various business representatives, drawing his attention to the impact the restriction on the number of items of hand baggage is having on UK air travellers. The current security regulations remain under constant review and we have made clear our readiness to remove the one bag limit once the aviation industry has demonstrated its collective ability to deliver effective security without it.

Aviation: Security

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of security regulations for UK air travellers on  (a) UK business competitiveness and  (b) London's status as a global financial centre.

Gillian Merron: The Secretary of State for Transport is in regular contact with all his Cabinet colleagues.

Aviation: Security

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on the UK aviation industry of the additional security regulations for air travellers.

Gillian Merron: The current security regulations are necessary to manage the very real threat and are kept under constant review to ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate. We are in close consultation with the industry to ensure that the measures are capable of being delivered for as long as is necessary.

Bus Services: North East Region

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of the bus fleet in each  (a) county and  (b) district in the north east.

Gillian Merron: The average age of the bus fleet in the north east at 31 March 2006 was 9.0 years. The average for GB on this date was 8.4 years. Data on the average age of the bus fleet are not available for local authority areas.

Car Sharing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car-share lanes he has authorised in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Although High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes can be introduced using existing legislation, the associated signs and carriageway markings require authorisation. The Department has authorised two HOV schemes in the last five years (the A256 Sandwich East Kent Access (2004) and the A370 Long Ashton Bypass (North Somerset) (2005 and 2006)).

Departments: Aviation

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by  (a) civil servants and  (b) Ministers in his Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost of such flights was.

Gillian Merron: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Departments: Energy

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many energy saving lightbulbs were purchased by his Department for use on the departmental estate in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Gillian Merron: Departmental performance against Government estate targets has been published in annual Sustainable Development in Government Reports. The last report, produced by the Sustainable Development Commission, the independent watchdog, was in March 2006. It covered the reporting period April 2005 to March 2006 and is available at:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/watchdog.
	Information relating to performance in the 2006-07 reporting period is in the process of being collated and will be published later this year by the Sustainable Development Commission.

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

Gillian Merron: The Department has 88 members of staff which it formally recognises as home workers. The Department for Transport's staff may also make individual requests to work flexibly based on a local business case, both to meet their personal needs, such as caring responsibilities, reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act and to meet the needs of the Department to have a well motivated and flexible workforce.
	The policy on home working is contained in the Departments staff handbooks and staff intranets.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Gillian Merron: The following tables provide details of responses from DfT (c) and its agencies to the request for information.
	
		
			  Temporary Workers 
			   Contract t ype  Male  Female  Disabled  55 or Over 
			 2005 Part-time 21 17 0 15 
			  Full-time 443 209 0 22 
			  Total 2005 464 226 0 37 
			   
			 2006 Part-time 21 25 0 18 
			  Full-time 727 296 0 22 
			  Total 2006 748 321 0 40 
			 2007(1) Part-time 21 24 0 11 
			  Full-time 773 410 0 13 
			  Total 2007 794 434 0 23 
			 (1 )To 31 March 2007 
		
	
	
		
			  Permanent Workers 
			   Contract t ype  Male  Female  Disabled  55 or Over 
			 2005 Part-time 493 2,022 37 361 
			  Full-time 9,189 5,619 370 2,471 
			  Total 2205 9,682 7,641 407 2,832 
			   
			 2006 Part-time 586 3,212 33 485 
			  Full-time 9,497 6,234 370 2,740 
			  Total 2006 10,083 9,446 403 3,225 
			   
			 2007(1) Part-time 655 2171 51 541 
			  Full-time 10,445 6,078 377 2,684 
			  Total 2007 11,100 8,249 428 3,225 
			 (1 )To March 31 March 2007 
		
	
	DVLA note no temporary contracts have been granted.
	MCA note no temporary contracts have been granted.
	DSA does not employ staff on a temporary contract.
	GCDA the information provided corresponds to the period since the GCDA became part of the DfT in November 2005.
	DfT (c) Temporary staff were not recorded on PIMS until late 2005 also note that part-time status, disability and age are not recorded for non-employees/temporary workers database.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of staff in his Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

Gillian Merron: Departmental information is that there are currently  (a) 57 per cent. male staff,  (b) 43 per cent. female staff,  (c) 6 per cent. staff who have declared that they are disabled and,  (d) 16 per cent. staff who are aged 55 and over.

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in 2006-07; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In 2006-07 the total number of staff to receive a bonus payment was 7,121. This represents 38.08 per cent. of the total workforce. The total amount of bonuses paid was £3,863,521.76. The largest single payment was £23,575.00.

Departments: Sick Leave

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average number of days per year was taken by staff in his Department as sick leave in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Gillian Merron: The Department was formed in May 2002. The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			   Average days absent  per staff year 
			 2002 9.1 
			 2003 10.2 
			 2004 10.7 
			 2005 10.4 
			 2006(1) 10.2 
			 (1) Data for 2006 is provisional as some data cleansing is still being carried out.

Dial-a-Ride

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much he has allocated to dial-a-ride systems operated by local authorities in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not allocate funds specifically for dial-a-ride type services.
	The majority of support for local bus services, some £350 million a year outside London, is provided by local authorities using the Government's revenue support grant (RSG). As well as conventional bus services, RSG is used by local authorities to support dial-a-ride type services or other demand responsive transport (DRT). Decisions on which services to support are a matter for individual authorities.
	The Department also provides support for rural bus services through rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG). The grant to local authorities in England—£55.6 million in 2007-08—can also be used to support DRT type services.
	Several DRT services benefited from the department's rural and urban bus challenge programme between 1998 and 2003. In total the challenge provided £160 million to over 400 schemes around the country.
	We have also changed the bus route registration rules to encourage flexibly routed, demand responsive bus services and made these services eligible for bus service operators grant (BSOG) from the Department. Community transport organisations are a major provider of dial-a-ride and DRT services and many receive funding through BSOG.

Driving Under Influence

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many deaths and serious injuries were attributed to the actions of drivers recorded with  (a) 140 or more,  (b) more than 120 but less than 141,  (c) more than 100 but less than 121,  (d) 80 or more,  (e) less than 80 but 50 or more and  (f) less than 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millimetres of their blood in each year from 1997 to 2006;
	(2)  how many deaths and serious injuries were attributed to the actions of drivers recorded with  (a) 80 or more,  (b) less than 80 but 50 or more and  (c) less than 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millimetres of their blood who had previous convictions for drink-driving offences in each year from 1997 to 2006;
	(3)  how many deaths and serious injuries were attributed to the actions of drivers suspected of drinking but where no alcohol in blood levels was officially recorded in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Driving Under Influence

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many drivers who were killed in each year from 1997 to 2006 were known or suspected to have consumed alcohol in sufficient quantity for their blood levels to be excess of 50 milligrammes in 100 millilitres of blood but less than the current statutory limit;
	(2)  how many drivers who were killed in each year from 1997 to 2006 were known or suspected to have consumed alcohol in sufficient quantity for their blood levels to be in excess of the current statutory limit.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is available in tables (2a) and (2i) of the article Drinking and Driving, published in Road Casualties Great Britain—the annual report. The annual reports for the years 1998 to 2005 contain the information requested and are available in the Libraries of the House.
	2004 is the most recent year for which the information requested is available.

Driving Under Influence: EC Action

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what  (a) oral and  (b) written representations he has received from (i) European Union and (ii) other European authorities on the harmonisation of a statutory blood alcohol level limit for drivers;
	(2)  what agreements have been made with European Union members on the statutory blood alcohol level limit for drivers;
	(3)  what steps the Government have taken to introduce a 50 milligramme blood alcohol level following the EU Transport Council in November 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: Written representations were received from the European Commission in 2001 concerning the publication of the Commission's recommendation on the maximum permitted BAL for drivers of motorised vehicles. No agreements have been made with EU members on the legal alcohol limit for drivers.
	We have made clear our view in the report of the second three-year review of the road safety strategy that the legal limit cannot be considered in isolation from other drink-drive measures, but we will keep the case for a reduction in the limit under review.

Driving: Methadone

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is permissible for an individual to drive a car while being prescribed methadone.

Stephen Ladyman: Those complying fully with a consultant supervised oral methadone maintenance programme may be licensed to drive, subject to favourable assessment and, normally, annual review. However, it is an offence to drive or attempt to drive while unfit due to any drug, illicit or prescribed.

Exhaust Emissions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has made to representatives from the British Airlines Pilots Association on the comparative emissions from different forms of transport.

Gillian Merron: None.

Government Car and Despatch Agency: Fines

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) speeding fines,  (b) London congestion charge fines and  (c) parking fines were incurred by the Government Car and Despatch Agency in 2006-07.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) paid £5898.02 in parking fines and £50 in congestion charge fines in 2006-07.
	The Agency has paid no speeding fines.

Government Car and Despatch Agency: Vehicles

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of miles travelled by cars in the Government Car and Despatch Agency in 2006-07.

Stephen Ladyman: It is estimated that cars in the Government Car and Despatch Agency fleet travelled approximately 2,189,000 miles in 2006-07. These figures are for the entire car fleet operated by GCDA, including its short-term hire and Green Car services.

Lorries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask the European Commission for a clear ruling on whether member states may make retro-reflective markings mandatory on newly registered heavy goods vehicles in the UK before the date of 10 October 2009 stipulated in the 03 series of amendments to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 48.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no plans to do so. Work is already in hand to bring in the retro-reflective tape requirement by amending Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations in time for the internationally-agreed 10 October 2009 date.

Lorries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the  (a) European Commission and  (b) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on making retro-reflective markings mandatory on newly registered heavy goods vehicles in the UK before the date of 10 October 2009 stipulated in the 03 series of amendments to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 48.

Stephen Ladyman: None.

Lorries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to make retro-reflective markings mandatory on all newly registered heavy goods vehicles before 10 October 2009 if the European Commission rules that member states are free to do so.

Stephen Ladyman: We are working to implement the retro-reflective tape requirement via amendment to Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations by 10 October 2009 in accordance with international agreement. It is doubtful that any ruling by the European Commission would materially advance our national implementation, due to the timescales needed to make amending regulations.

Lorries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average journey of  (a) three and a half and  (b) 12 tonne trucks on (i) motorways and (ii) A roads in England was in the last period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: Average length of trip per annum by company owned vehicles not exceeding three and a half tonnes gross plated weight is published in Table 4.1 of Road Freight Statistics 2005.
	Data on the average length of haul by goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are published in Table 1.15 of Road Freight Statistics 2005.
	Data on the exact weights of 3.5 tonnes and 12 tonnes are not available separately because of the small survey sample sizes.
	Printed copies of the publication are available in the House Library. It is also available on the Department for Transport's website at the following link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/freight/goodsbyroad/

Lorries: Tolls

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether his Department is conducting work on the lorry road user charge;
	(2)  what steps the Government is taking to ensure that foreign hauliers pay for their financial and environmental impact on UK roads.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is not conducting work on a specific lorry road user charging scheme. It was announced to the House on 5 July 2005 that the specific procurement exercise for a lorry road user charging scheme would not continue, but that we would continue to work with the industry and to ensure that we carry the full experience gained from the project into the wider work on road pricing for cars and lorries.
	The Department is currently undertaking a feasibility study to explore ways of delivering better targeted enforcement on foreign heavy goods vehicles. This is looking at a range of potential schemes including a vignette. No decisions have been taken on this.

M1

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the carriageways of the M1 motorway between junctions 26 and 27 are next scheduled to be resurfaced.

Stephen Ladyman: The M1 motorway between junctions 26 and 27 forms part of the M1 J21—J30 widening contract 1. As part of this widening programme, all the carriageways will be re-surfaced providing a new low noise surface. Subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and approved funding, Contract 1 work is planned to start in late 2007.

Motor Vehicles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle defect notices were issued for each year since 1997 in respect of  (a) British registered vehicles and  (b) vehicles registered in other EU member states, broken down by country.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Service Agency (VOSA) is responsible for road safety enforcement. Inspection notices are issued to British vehicles only. Prohibitions are issued to British and international traffic. Statistics for both are reported annually in VOSA's Effectiveness report. This is available on-line at www.vosa.gov.uk or in the House of Commons Library, Business and Transport section.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he plans to make it Government policy to extend the MOT testing regime to every other year after cars' fourth year as recommended by the Davidson review; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on vehicle emissions as a result of extending the MOT testing regime to every other year after cars' fourth year as recommended by the Davidson review;
	(3)  whether he has made an assessment of the impact that lengthening the time between MOT tests will have on  (a) road safety and  (b) driver behaviour as referred to on page 5, paragraph 13 of the Davidson report;
	(4)  whether he has made an assessment of the frequency of MOT equivalent tests in other EU member states;
	(5)  whether he has made an assessment of the comparable rates of accidents in which vehicle defects are a contributable factor in other EU member states with an MOT equivalent regime of testing every other year;
	(6)  what estimates he has  (a) made and  (b) evaluated of the potential increase in (i) deaths and (ii) serious injuries from a change from annual to biannual MoT tests;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the financial implications for  (a) MOT garages,  (b) motorists and  (c) manufacturers and retailers of cars and components arising from a change from annual to biannual MOT tests; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I intend to issue a consultation paper shortly which will cover these issues.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the environmental impact of extending the allowed period between MOT tests to every other year after cars' fourth year as recommended by the Davidson review.

Stephen Ladyman: None.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles failed MOTs on grounds of emissions standards in each year since 1997, broken down by vehicle type.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for the operation of the MOT Scheme. Statistics regarding the number of vehicles that failed the MOT test on the grounds of emissions standards are published annually in VOSA's Effectiveness Report. This is available on-line at www.vosa.gov.uk or in the House of Commons Library, Business and Transport Section.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) the motor insurance industry,  (b) MOT garages,  (c) the police and  (d) the motor car manufacturing industry on lengthening the time between MOT tests.

Stephen Ladyman: None.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many MOT tests were carried out on  (a) private and  (b) commercial vehicles in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for the supervision of the MOT Scheme. Statistics regarding the number of MOT tests carried out on  (a) private and  (b) commercial vehicles are reported annually in VOSA's Effectiveness Report.
	This is available on-line at www.vosa.gov.uk or in the House of Commons Library, Business and Transport Section.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many approved MOT garages there are.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of approved MOT garages at 19 June 2007 was 18,858.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the average investment on equipment made by an MOT garage to carry out MOT tests on  (a) private and  (b) commercial vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for the supervision of the MOT scheme. VOSA authorises a range of equipment for use when carrying out MOT tests. However, the equipment purchased remains a business decision for the MOT garage owner. VOSA does not hold records of the expenditure of MOT garages, therefore, no estimate is available.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much a garage is required to pay in fees in order to gain approval as a registered MOT provider; and to which agency such fees are payable.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for the supervision of the MOT scheme. Garages applying to the Secretary of State for authorisation to be a registered MOT provider are not required to pay a fee.

Motorcycles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 108W, on motorcycles, what reservations were expressed by motorcycle racing and motorcycle sports organisations on the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill; and if he will place copies of the representations in the Library;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 114W, on vehicles, what reservations were expressed by rural and farming organisations on the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill; and if he will place copies of the representations in the Library.

Stephen Ladyman: Motorcycle racing and motorcycle sports organisations and rural and farming organisations have expressed reservations about the impact of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill. Those representations were made to the Department for Transport in confidence.

Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make an assessment of the likely implications for the staffing of his Department and its agencies of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form;
	(2)  if he will estimate the  (a) initial cost and  (b) subsequent annual costs of implementing the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the size of the advertising budget required to publicise the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill as it stands following Second Reading should it be passed into law;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of likely levels of non-compliance should the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill be passed into law as it stands following Second Reading;
	(5)  what additional equipment would be needed to enforce the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if passed into law as it stands following Second Reading; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost;
	(6)  what additional training will be needed to enforce the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if passed into law as it stands following Second Reading; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost;
	(7)  what assessment he has made of the possible overall impact of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill on his Department and its agencies should it be passed into law as it stands following Second Reading.

Stephen Ladyman: It is estimated that around 230 additional staff would be required for DfT and its Agencies.
	The overall cost to implement the Bill as drafted has been estimated as approximately £80 million over three years.
	The costs required for advertising have not yet been estimated.
	No estimate has been made of the likely levels of non-compliance.
	It has not been established whether additional equipment would be required.
	The estimated cost of enforcement is £50 million over two years.
	The estimated cost to this Department and its Agencies is £30 million over three years.

Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of which programmes managed by his Department and its agencies would have to be delayed or postponed should the Off Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill pass into law as it stands following Second Reading; what estimate he has made of the cost of such delays; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: No formal assessment has yet been made, but it is likely that the proposals would require significant additional changes to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA's) IT systems and processes. This would be likely to have an adverse impact on other DVLA IT programmes and hence on the quality of services to the public. It is likely that one of the projects that would be rescheduled would be the delivery of continuous insurance enforcement.

Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister for Northern Ireland on the possible implications of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the possible implications of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Secretary of State for Scotland and  (b) the First Minister for Scotland on the possible implications of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted.

Stephen Ladyman: No discussions on the implications of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill have taken place with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the First Minister for Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State for Scotland or the First Minister for Scotland.

Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the possible impact on the rural and farming community of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the possible impact on the agricultural industry of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the possible impact on motorcycle sport of the Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill if enacted in its current form.

Stephen Ladyman: The Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill has been interpreted as making provisions which would apply to certain vehicles used in rural areas for agriculture and forestry, and vehicles used for motor sport. No detailed assessments have yet been made, but it is clear that, in its current form, the Bill would require many such vehicles to be registered and to display a registration number.

Railways: Northern Region

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Sprinter trains are in use on the Northern Rail franchise; and what the average age is of the Sprinter fleet.

Tom Harris: The Northern franchise currently has 40 Class 150 Sprinter units in use, each comprised of two vehicles. The Class 150s were built between 1984 and 1987.

Roads: Accidents

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of children  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured on the road in each year since 1997 during their journey to and from school when travelling (i) on foot, (ii) by bicycle and (iii) in vehicles; what estimate he has made of the number who were within 300 metres of their home in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of children (aged 0-15) killed or seriously injured in reported personal injury road accidents, on the  way to or from school, GB: 1997 to  2005 
			  Number of casualties 
			   Pedestrian  Pedal cyclist  Other vehicles  Total 
			   Killed  Serious  Killed  Serious  Killed  Serious  Killed  Serious 
			 1997 22 934 3 99 0 101 25 1,134 
			 1998 15 847 3 108 7 135 25 1,090 
			 1999 16 765 3 113 3 108 22 986 
			 2000 19 762 2 64 3 81 24 907 
			 2001 16 722 0 53 5 60 21 835 
			 2002 8 718 3 64 2 81 13 863 
			 2003 11 521 1 44 1 41 13 606 
			 2004 10 502 2 35 2 53 14 590 
			 2005 6 448 1 51 4 45 11 544 
		
	
	2005 is the latest year for which figures are available. No estimates are available of the number of children injured within 300 metres of their home.

Roads: Accidents

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many  (a) road traffic accidents (RTAs) and  (b) RTAs involving serious injury or fatalities were recorded in each year since 1997 in which mechanical failure or defects, including tyres, have been identified as the cause or a contributory factor;
	(2)  what types of defects detectable during the MOT test have led to serious and fatal accidents in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Comprehensive information on what types of defects detectable during the MOT test have led to serious and fatal accidents is not available.
	From 2005 information has been collected on contributory factors to reported personal injury road accidents, including vehicle defects. These are "tyres illegal, defective or under inflated", "defective lights or indicators", "defective brakes", "defective steering or suspension", "defective or missing mirrors" and "overloaded or poorly loaded vehicle or trailer". This Information is published on the Department's website at the following web addresses:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/162259/162469/221412/221549/227755/contributoryfactorstoroadacc1802
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221549/227755/227760/RCGBcotribfacactualfigsrev.xls

Traffic Lights: Cameras

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment was made of the merits of requiring traffic light cameras to be brightly painted when the decision was taken to make that a requirement for fixed speed cameras; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: No assessment was made. Traffic light signals are, by their very nature, highly visible so it is unnecessary to require any cameras monitoring them to be brightly painted. Traffic light signals monitored by cameras are however clearly signed in advance.

Transport: Costs

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage change in real terms of the cost of travelling by  (a) private car,  (b) bus and  (c) train since 1997.

Gillian Merron: Between 1997 and 2006 the real cost of motoring declined by 10.2 per cent. bus and coach fares increased by 12.6 per cent. and rail fares increased by 5.9 per cent.

West Coast Railway Line

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many instances of serious safety lapses have occurred on the West Coast mainline since the Grayrigg derailment on 23 February;
	(2)  how many instances of serious safety lapses have occurred on the Cumbrian section of the West Coast mainline since the Grayrigg derailment on 23 February;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on Network Rail's initial report into the Grayrigg derailment;
	(4)  what inspection regime is used for checking the condition of the rail line on the Cumbrian section of the West Coast mainline;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of staff employed in the maintenance of the Cumbrian section of the West Coast mainline;
	(6)  what additional checks have been introduced on the Cumbrian section of the West Coast Main Line since the Grayrigg derailment on 23 February;
	(7)  whether there is to be a review of the speed limits in operation on the Cumbrian section of the West Coast Main Line;
	(8)  what assessment he has made of the impact on scheduled journey times of additional checks being carried out on the Cumbrian section of the West Coast Main Line.

Tom Harris: The Grayrigg derailment is being investigated by the Rail Accident Investigation branch (RAIB), which will in accordance with its regulations, make its report public in the shortest possible time commensurate with a thorough investigation. The RAIB's investigations covers a broad range of issues but includes the maintenance regime and related staff resources; and any internal reports produced by Network Rail will be considered by RAIB as part of its investigations.
	When RAIB's detailed findings are available, Network Rail will consider them carefully and any action which may need to be taken.
	The inspection regime to check the condition of the track (including any additional checks) is an operational matter for Network Rail. It falls to the rail industry to agree the speed limits and journey times on the line. Network Rail's arrangements are subject to independent scrutiny.

West Coast Railway Line

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the full report on the inquiry into the Grayrigg derailment to be published.

Tom Harris: The investigation by the rail accident investigation branch (RAIB) is continuing and the RAIB will, in accordance with its regulations, make its report public in the shortest possible time commensurate with a thorough investigation.

JUSTICE

Burglary: Sentencing

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many mandatory sentences were handed down to burglars in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: The following table shows the information reported to the Ministry of Justice, previously Home Office, Court Proceedings Database on persons sentenced under section 111 of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (previously section 4 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997) in England and Wales for a third offence of domestic burglary in the years 2000 to 2005. Data are not available before 2000, as the Crown court computer system was not updated to recognise these sentences until then.
	The data are published in table 2.6 of the Statistical Bulletin, "Sentencing Statistics 2005". It can be located at the following:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0307.pdf
	
		
			  Persons sentenced under the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, 2000-05: England and Wales 
			  Number of persons 
			   Section 111 (Minimum three years for third domestic burglary) 
			 2000 — 
			 2001 6 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 13 
			 2004 46 
			 2005 89 
		
	
	Statistics for 2006 will be published in the autumn.

Children: Abuse

Annette Brooke: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how much funding has been allocated to training for paediatricians giving testimony for the prosecution in child abuse cases for 2007-08.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not held centrally.

Coroners: Mesothelioma

Sally Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of procedures in coroner's courts for dealing with deaths due to mesothelioma.

Harriet Harman: A coroner must hold an inquest into deaths which are reported to him which he has reasonable cause to suspect of being unnatural. This would usually include diseases contracted at work such as mesothelioma. Investigations into these kinds of deaths will continue in a reformed system, but will be governed by national standards set by a new chief coroner.

Coroners: Mesothelioma

Sally Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received on the conduct of inquests into deaths caused by mesothelioma; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have received the report of the British Lung Foundation on the investigation of mesothelioma deaths. My officials attended the launch of the report and have met subsequently with representatives of the British Lung Foundation. The report's recommendations will be taken into account as reform proposals are further developed.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice whether all inmates detained in Crown court cells have been subject to the minimum standard of induction as required by Prison Service Order 0550; who was responsible for conducting the induction procedures; what level of training those responsible for the induction received; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: Prison Service Order 0550 provides instructions and guidance on the induction process for prisoners on arrival at a prison establishment. As such it is not applicable to the exceptional use of court cells, which are used only as a measure of last resort if accommodation in prison and police cells is exhausted.
	Prisoners who have not yet been held in a prison will undergo full reception and induction procedures at the prison to which they are allocated.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice whether all inmates detained in Crown court cells have been subject to the minimum standard of health screening as required in prison service orders; who was responsible for conducting the health screening; what the minimum level of training is for those responsible for conducting the screening; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: Arrangements are in place for prisoners held in court cells to be assessed by a qualified health care professional. Further health screening will take place on reception at the prison to which they are allocated.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice whether each instance of accommodation provided for inmates in Crown court cells corresponds with the minimum standards as laid down in Prison Service Order 1900; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: Prison Service Order 1900 provides guidance for the certification and use of prison accommodation and is not applicable to the use of court cells, which are used only as a measure of last resort if accommodation in prison and police cells is exhausted. Appropriate staffing levels and procedures are in place in order to ensure prisoners are held in safe and decent conditions.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what level of supervision is provided to prisoners detained overnight in Crown court cells; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: Staffing levels are determined on a site-by-site basis in order to ensure safety and decency, good order and control. In addition to an appropriate level of staff provided by the relevant prisoner escort contractor, there is prison service governor grade supervision.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice who is responsible for the supervision of prisoners lodged overnight in Crown court cells; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: It is a legal requirement for prisoners to be held in the custody under the authority and direction of a 'constable.' When court cells are in use, this role is discharged by a prison service governor grade.
	Additional staffing of court cells is provided by the relevant prisoner escort contractor, following established operating procedures.

Crown Courts: Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prisoners have been held overnight in Crown court cells since the beginning of 2007; and if she will make a statement.

David Hanson: Since the beginning of 2007 current data show that court cells have been used on 561 occasions (as at 19 June 2007). One occasion means one prisoner night in a court cell.

Departments: Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice which  (a) advertising agencies and  (b) other organisations supplied consultancy services for advertising campaigns for (i) her Department and its predecessor and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the cost of these services was.

David Hanson: Since my Department, the Ministry of Justice, was established on 9 May 2007, it has not commissioned any consultancy services for advertising campaigns. Its predecessor Department, the Department for Constitutional Affairs, did not use consultancy services for advertising campaigns.

Departments: Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how much was spent on advertising by  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Since my Department, the Ministry of Justice, was established on 9 May 2007, the Department and its agencies have incurred no expenditure on advertising.

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what  (a) services and  (b) products her Department and its predecessor has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Harriet Harman: The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007, and my response relates to the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and those bodies which were part of the Home Office and are now part of the Ministry of Justice.
	 DCA
	In the financial year ending 31 March 2007, the DCA procured from Remploy:  (a) 'Book-binding' services for Court Registers and Publications to the value of £8,635.70 and 'Disability Training' services to the value of £3,858.47.  (b) The DCA has not purchased any of Remploys' products. Total expenditure was £12,494.17.
	 Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR)
	In the last 12 months, OCJR have not procured any services provided by Remploy, nor has it purchased any of their products.
	 National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
	In the last 12 months, NOMS have not procured any services provided by Remploy, nor has it purchased any of their products.
	 HM Prison Service (HMPS)
	In the last 12 months, HMPS have not procured any services provided by Remploy, nor has it purchased any of their products.

Drink Driving

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce) on 6 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 592-600W, on driving under the influence, how many convictions there were in each police authority area in England and Wales for the offence of drink driving in each year between 1995 and 2001.

David Hanson: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, from 1995 to 2001 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1 ) by police force area, England and Wales, 1995 to 2001 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,432 2,512 2,812 2,566 2,728 2,462 2,197 
			 Bedfordshire 1,001 1,093 1,146 1,060 869 797 914 
			 Cambridgeshire 946 951 1,092 1,060 941 793 813 
			 Cheshire 1,818 2,034 1,969 1,903 1,827 1,652 1,529 
			 Cleveland 973 902 926 870 811 777 887 
			 Cumbria 848 927 931 856 871 806 761 
			 Derbyshire 1,462 1,595 1,612 1,547 1,463 1,417 1,411 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,170 2,144 2,342 2,265 2,277 2,199 2,369 
			 Dorset 1,081 1,190 1,214 1,186 1,120 1,115 1,150 
			 Durham 963 1,036 1,044 1,035 1,137 1,124 1,097 
			 Essex 2,436 2,555 2,736 2,438 2,528 2,462 2,456 
			 Gloucestershire 1,069 979 1,067 985 889 804 865 
			 Greater Manchester 5,554 5,085 4,806 4,715 4,850 4,801 4,715 
			 Hampshire 3,256 3,556 3,774 3,597 3,725 3,472 3,464 
			 Hertfordshire 1,513 1,421 1,670 1,672 1,679 1,552 1,666 
			 Humberside 1,247 1,353 1,274 1,358 1,323 1,371 1,259 
			 Kent 2,395 2,576 2,321 2,627 2,633 2,592 2,575 
			 Lancashire 2,828 3,211 3,389 2,945 3,010 2,584 2,304 
			 Leicestershire 1,291 1,478 1,648 1,485 1,624 1,531 1,546 
			 Lincolnshire 839 839 1,088 979 941 816 877 
			 London, City of 358 464 436 301 236 162 162 
			 Merseyside 2,616 2,746 2,719 2,451 2,137 2,128 2,195 
			 Metropolitan Police 15,445 15,012 16,165 13,889 12,414 11,801 11,260 
			 Norfolk 912 1,013 1,116 1,118 1,010 935 1,143 
			 Northamptonshire(2) 879 927 1,107 1,062 1,058 782 399 
			 Northumbria 2,206 2,414 2,625 2,457 2,463 2,621 2,529 
			 North Yorkshire 1,247 1,311 1,365 1,205 1,124 1,073 1,066 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,762 1,931 2,031 1,804 1,802 1,722 1,598 
			 South Yorkshire 2,008 2,129 2,296 2,002 1,927 2,122 2,020 
			 Staffordshire(3) 1,809 1,854 2,036 1,955 1,711 (4)— 1,513 
			 Suffolk 985 1,066 1,050 1,042 1,089 902 920 
			 Surrey 1,355 1,376 1,380 1,328 1,417 1,539 1,592 
			 Sussex 2,098 2,200 2,373 2,113 2,224 2,112 2,358 
			 Thames Valley 3,651 3,942 4,070 3,896 3,725 3,496 3,275 
			 Warwickshire 854 907 837 784 856 786 880 
			 West Mercia 1,943 1,930 1,947 1,794 1,747 1,631 1,740 
			 West Midlands 5,655 5,880 6,351 5,582 4,775 4,559 4,914 
			 West Yorkshire 3,902 4,102 3,953 3,669 3,597 3,375 3,220 
			 Wiltshire 1,034 1,011 1,043 1,108 1,009 930 1,045 
			 England 86,841 89,652 93,761 86,709 83,567 79,671 78,684 
			 Dyfed Powys 932 993 1,029 995 944 858 867 
			 Gwent 739 966 1,166 1,203 1,079 1,211 1,152 
			 North Wales 1,366 1,363 1,354 1,306 1,248 1,332 1,227 
			 South Wales 2,627 2,731 2,892 2,903 2,526 2,757 2,812 
			 Wales 5,664 6,053 6,441 6,407 5,797 6,158 6,058 
			 England and Wales 92,505 95,705 100,202 93,116 89,364 85,829 84,742 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Act ss. 4 (1) & (2); 5 (1) and (b); 6 (4) and 7 (6). (2) In 2000 problems encountered with the electronic submission of data directly from the courts resulted in shortfalls in summary motoring offences for Northamptonshire from June onwards. This shortfall continued in 2001. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Not available.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Fixed Penalties: Prisoners

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 382W, on fixed penalties: prisoners, how it was possible to provide a substantive answer to question 12643, tabled on 6 March 2007, by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam on illegal immigrants: fixed penalties.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The substantive answer provided to question 12643, tabled on 6 March 2007, by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) on illegal immigrants: fixed penalties, asked specifically for the number of fixed penalties issued to Romanian and Bulgarian nationals for working in breach of the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006. The information relating to the number of fixed penalty notices issued under this scheme is collated locally but not published as a national statistic. This information has not been quality assured and should be treated as provisional management information only.
	The answer of 5 June 2007,  Official Report, column 382W, referred to fixed penalty notices and Penalty Notices for Disorder. The offences covered in these collections are motoring, minor public disorder and environmental offences, which do not relate to immigration matters. As a result of this, data on the nationality of recipients of these disposals are not collected centrally.

Offenders

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many  (a) first time offenders and  (b) re-offenders were arrested and subsequently charged in (i) Bridgend constituency, (ii) the South Wales police authority area, (iii) Wales and (iv) England in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) holds an extract of data from the police national computer (PNC) which is used to provide data on proven re-offending. Because of the focus on re-offending the data held is largely for cases which resulted in a conviction or a caution, although it also includes information on cases that are still pending at the time the data is extracted from the PNC. Details of cases which on completion do not result in a caution or conviction are not held. This dataset cannot therefore be used to provide comprehensive information on arrests or charges.
	The main arrests collection held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences). It does not however include information about whether or not the offenders had previously committed offences.

Poaching: Salmon

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many convictions there were in each year from 2002 to 2006 for illegal poaching of salmon with prohibited instruments.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act for the illegal poaching of fish with prohibited instruments do not specify the type of fish poached, and therefore data on convictions for poaching of salmon with prohibited instruments are not separately identifiable, and are therefore not available.

Police Custody: Sussex

Nick Herbert: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice 
	(1)  how many cells at police stations in Sussex are being used as part of Operation Safeguard;
	(2)  what the cost has been of the use of cells at police stations in Sussex of Operation Safeguard;
	(3)  how many prisoners have been held in police stations in Sussex since the latest launch of Operation Safeguard.

David Hanson: Sussex police force has not committed to providing places in police cells as part of Operation Safeguard but provides ad hoc assistance when required.
	No invoices have yet been paid to Sussex police.
	The level of usage of Operation Safeguard within individual police force areas is held for use as management information only.

Prisoners: Young Offender Institutions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the average population was in young offender institutions in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The average population in young offender institutions in England and Wales in each year from 1997 to 2005 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Population in young offender institutions 
			   Number 
			 1997 7,834 
			 1998 8,505 
			 1999 8,344 
			 2000 8,439 
			 2001 8,565 
			 2002 8,779 
			 2003 8,424 
			 2004 8,294 
			 2005 8,243 
		
	
	The figures were taken from web table 8.10 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005. This can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1806section8.xls
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many incidents of  (a) self-harm,  (b) prisoner-on-prisoner violence,  (c) prisoner-on-officer violence and  (d) officer-on-prisoner violence were recorded in each prison in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Prisons: Drugs

Edward Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how much and what proportion of the prison service budget was spent on drug rehabilitation programmes inside prisons in the last 12 months, broken down by treatment methods and programmes.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Out of a total £2.83 billion allocated to run prisons during 2006-07 (excluding healthcare and education funding), £77.3 million was provided for custodial drug treatment. This equates to 2.73 per cent. of the total allocation.
	The funding breakdown is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Intervention  Allocation 2006-07 (£ million)  Proportion of total prison spend (percentage) 
			 Clinical services 23.3 0.82 
			 CARATS 31.7 1.12 
			 Drug rehabilitation programmes 19.4 0.69 
			 Juvenile substance misuse programmes 2.9 0.10 
			 Total 77.3 2.73 
		
	
	 Prison Drug Treatment
	Around 55 per cent. of those received into custody are problem drug-users (PDUs)—with some local prisons reporting up to 80 per cent. testing positive for Class A drugs on reception. This means around 70,000 PDUs enter custody each year—with 40,000 being present at any one time.
	Addressing drug-misuse is a priority for the MoJ—and NOMS has in place a comprehensive drug strategy, the three key elements of which focus on: (i) supply reduction, (ii) demand reduction (through effective treatment) and (iii) building effective through-care arrangements (particularly through prisons' engagement in the HO-led drug interventions programme (DIP)) so timely continuity of treatment can be maintained as PDUs move respectively between custody and the community.
	Drug 'treatment' in custody goes much wider than the 116 drug rehabilitation programmes running across the estate and includes: (i) clinical services (maintenance-prescribing and/or detoxification programmes) that are available in all local and remand prisons; and (ii) CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Through-care services) that are provided in all prisons.
	 Spending on prisons
	The total spending on prisons in 2006-07 was £2.83 billion. This figure is a provisional outturn and subject to audit. It includes HMPS, private prisons, and prison related-services managed in NOMS HQ. It does not include expenditure on education or health met by the DFES or DoH.
	Spending on Prisons has increased in real terms by 36 per cent. since 1996-97 (to 2006-07). Real terms means adjusted for inflation to 2005-06 levels using the Treasury deflator.
	For the purpose of this PQ, the total £2.83 billion figure cited for running prisons has been based on the funding allocated to run prisons operationally—primarily on security, safety, decency and health, maintaining their fabric and providing prison officers to deliver/oversee services for prisoners.
	 Prison drug treatment funding.
	While it is true that the level of funding allocated to drug treatment is only a small proportion of the overall prisons budget, this needs to be seen in context. A significant proportion of the prisons budget is spent on infrastructure and staffing—essential to keep prisons safe and to protect the public. It is however, better to compare expenditure on drug treatment against actual treatment need. With funding levels up 997 per cent. since 1996-97 and overall numbers engaged in prison treatment increasing year on year, prisons are doing much to close the treatment gap. The calculations are based on additional drug treatment funding allocated as a result of successive spending reviews. The figure approximates to £7 million but it is not possible to breakdown between various treatment types. The pre-CSR baseline has therefore been excluded from the calculations.
	 Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS)
	The integrated drug treatment system (IDTS) is designed to boost the quality and increase the volume of drug treatment with a particular focus on drug users during their first 28 days in custody. By March 2008 full IDTS (enhanced clinical services and psychosocial support i.e. CARATS) will be available in 17 prisons; additionally enhanced clinical services will also be available in a further 35 establishments. Collectively, NOMS/DH funding for delivery of IDTS during 2007-08 stands at £18.7 million. This is expected to see around 24,500 drug users benefiting annually from enhanced clinical services.
	So far as IDTS is concerned, the Department of Health and NOMS have had to make challenging decisions in reviewing the totality of budgets in recent years. Current levels of funding are down significantly on planned expenditure.
	 Treatment gap
	More work is needed to identify the gaps in treatment provision. Historically, local assessment and epidemiological studies have informed treatment delivery across the prison estate. Work is already underway on a needs analysis model but, ahead of its data being available later this year, NOMS already anticipates there being a significant treatment gap. For example, to identify offenders' drug needs effectively, the CARAT service would need to undertake substance-misuse triage assessments for up to 80 per cent. of the annual prison through-put; based on 136,000 offenders passing through custody, this would be around 108,000 offenders. As currently resourced, CARAT teams only deliver around 75,000 assessments—a potential shortfall of 33,000.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Nick Herbert: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with the Prison Service on the possibility of easing prison overcrowding by transferring prisoners serving sentences in closed prisons to  (a) open prisons and  (b) Ford Open Prison;
	(2)  what plans there are to relieve overcrowding in closed prisons by transferring prisoners to  (a) open prisons and  (b) Ford Open Prison.

David Hanson: The Prison Service has already implemented measures designed to maximise the use of the whole prison estate. This includes the transfer of prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months in custody to an open prison (including to HMP Ford) for the final 56 days of their sentence. Each individual is subject to a streamlined risk assessment in order to determine whether they are suitable for transfer.

Probation: Manpower

Edward Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what her most recent estimate is of the number of  (a) probation officer and  (b) probation service officer vacancies in each probation area in England and Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Not all Probation Areas in the National Probation Service operate a set establishment against which vacant posts can be measured. As a more representative alternative, Probation Areas are required to report regularly on the number of active vacancies they have. An active vacancy is one which a Probation Area is actively trying to fill through a recruitment process.
	Figures for 31 December 2006 show that there were a total of 8343.64 full-time equivalent Probation Officers in post in England and Wales. On the same date there were 70.27 full-time equivalent vacancies that were actively being recruited to. Therefore active vacancies accounted for 0.84 per cent. of the total posts available at that time.
	Additionally, the National Probation Service employs 6,502.74 full-time equivalent probation service officers, who also deliver front-line services to offenders. At this time, there were 203.00 full-time equivalent vacancies, equating to 3.03 per cent. of the total posts available.
	The figures presented in the following table show active vacancies for each Area, in terms of full-time equivalent value, for the Probation Officer and Probation Service Officer grades at the close of Quarter 3 06/07 (1 October to 31 December 2006).
	
		
			  Probation officer and probation service officers vacancies (as at 31 December 2006) 
			   All vacancies  Probation officer vacancies  Probation services officer vacancies 
			  Area  Total  Total vacancies  Vacancies (as a percentage of total vacancies)  Vacancies (as a percentage of total posts( 1) )  Total vacancies  Vacancies (as a percentage of total vacancies)  Vacancies (as a percentage of total posts( 1) ) 
			 Avon and Somerset 7.90 3.00 37.97 1.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Bedfordshire 1.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Cambridgeshire 4.00 1.00 25.00 0.99 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Cheshire 15.74 3.00 19.06 2.08 9.44 59.97 7.24 
			 Cumbria 5.96 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Derbyshire 4.60 0.60 13.04 0.45 2.00 43.48 187 
			 Devon and Cornwall 15.68 3.60 22.96 1.71 3.41 21.75 2.26 
			 Dorset 8.40 1.30 15.48 1.53 4.80 57. 14 6.25 
			 Durham 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Dyfed Powys 4.39 1.70 38.72 2.52 0.69 15. 72 1.31 
			 Essex 5.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.10 41.18 1.20 
			 Gloucestershire 6.00 2.00 33.33 2.91 3.00 50.00 5.76 
			 Greater Manchester(2) — n/a — — n/a — — 
			 Gwent 2.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 47.62 1.01 
			 Hampshire(2) — n/a — — n/a — — 
			 Hertfordshire 3.50 3.00 85.71 3.34 0.50 14.29 0.59 
			 Humberside 28.10 5.60 19.93 2.84 12.10 43.06 7.45 
			 Kent 12.72 4.00 31.45 1.99 3.00 23.58 1.78 
			 Lancashire 1.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Leicestershire 13.00 1.10 8.46 0.66 11,40 87.69 5.60 
			 Lincolnshire 4.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.50 77.78 4.75 
			 London 104.00 13.00 12.50 1.18 84.00 80.77 7.87 
			 Merseyside 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 
			 Norfolk 6.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 50.00 2.08 
			 North Wales 3.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 3.00 100.00 3.65 
			 North Yorkshire 4.10 0,00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Northamptonshire 16.85 8.00 47.48 7.01 2.00 11.87 2.69 
			 Northumbria 11.21 2.00 17.84 0.70 3.00 26.76 1.60 
			 Nottinghamshire 8.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00 70.59 2.93 
			 South Wales 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 South Yorkshire 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Staffordshire 2.50 2.50 100.00 1.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Suffolk 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Surrey 18.87 3.27 1733 3.87 9.00 47.69 8.00 
			 Sussex 4.00 2.00 50.00 1.07 1.00 25.00 0.76 
			 Teesside 11.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 90.91 9.31 
			 Thames Valley 23.50 4.00 17.02 1.68 13.50 57.45 5.34 
			 Warwickshire 11.16 1.00 8.96 1.59 5.66 50. 72 11.26 
			 West Mercia 8.76 1.00 11.42 0.63 3.00 34.25 265 
			 West Midlands(2) — n/a — — n/a — — 
			 West Yorkshire 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Wiltshire 10.70 3.60 33.64 4.55 2.90 27. 10 5.48 
			 
			 NPS 389.74 70.27 18.03 0.84 203.00 52.09 3.03 
			 (1) Total PO and PSO posts are 'staff in post' plus the number of active vacancies. (2) Hampshire, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Probation Areas are unable to provide data on active vacancies.

Reoffenders

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many offenders made the subject of each type of community supervision by the courts were sent to prison for  (a) further offending during the duration of the order and  (b) otherwise breaching the conditions of the order in each of the last six years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information for England and Wales on the completion rates for the main types of community sentence, for each year since 1995, can be found in Table 5.1 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. This information shows the number of community sentences which are terminated due to further offences being committed by the offender or for failure to comply with the requirements of the sentence. Information on the number of offenders received into prison in each of the last six years for breaching community sentences is shown as follows. Information on the number of offenders who are sent to prison for committing further offences during community supervision is not centrally available.
	
		
			  Prison receptions for breach of community orders 
			   Number 
			 2001 2,185 
			 2002 4,604 
			 2003 2,954 
			 2004 3,900 
			 2005 4,464 
			 2006 6,368 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Strikes: Shrewsbury

Michael Clapham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if he will initiate an inquiry into the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the 24 building workers in 1972, known as the Shrewsbury 24, and the subsequent treatment they have received whilst serving their jail sentences; and if he will place copies of the documents held by his Department relating to the case in the Library.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Any person who believes they have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice can apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for a review of their case. The CCRC has the power to review possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to gain access to documents and other material which may be relevant to its investigations, and to refer to the appropriate court any case in which there is a real possibility that the conviction will not be upheld. Unless, however, there are exceptional circumstances, the CCRC is not empowered to refer cases until the court appeal system has been exhausted. It is open to prisoners and former prisoners to seek recompense through civil litigation for any alleged wrongdoing while in prison custody.
	We are not aware of the existence of any documents of which copies might be placed in the Library.

Tickets: Touting

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prosecutions there were of ticket touts in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The offence of ticket touting, under section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 applies to regulated football matches. This public order provision is used by police in a proportionate and targeted way when the segregation of supporters might be compromised. Detailed information on football-related arrests has been collated by the Football Banning Orders Authority since the football season 2001-02, when the existing banning order framework was introduced. The following table provides details of prosecutions in respect of ticket touting offences.
	
		
			  Prosecutions under section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, England and Wales, 2001-06 football seasons 
			  Football season  Prosecutions 
			 2001-02 96 
			 2002-03 56 
			 2003-04 42 
			 2004-05 72 
			 2005-06 47 
			  Source: Football Banning Orders Authority

TREASURY

Aggregates Sustainability Levy Fund

Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the Aggregates Sustainability Levy Fund was allocated to each of the fund's eight national delivery partners in each year since the fund was established.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The figures in the following table show the final allocations to the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund's national delivery partners in England in each of the financial years the fund has been running.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Natural England — — — — — 5,100,000 
			 English Nature 4,970,000 4,193,000 4,110,000 3,500,000 2,688,000 — 
			 Countryside Agency 5,470,000 4,193,000 2,710,000 2,160,000 2,002,000 — 
			 English Heritage 5,470,000 4,193,000 4,310,000 4,350,000 3,423,000 4,400,000 
			 CEFAS (Marine) — — 950,000 1,300,000 910,000 2,500,000 
			 Waste and Resources Action Programme 6,500,000 8,240,000 3,650,000 5,980,000 5,446,000 2,700,000 
			 Minerals Industry Research Organisation 1,800,000 1,627,000 1,490,000 1,650,000 1,155,000 1,500,000 
			 Department for Transport — — 400,000 2,200,000 2,849,000 1,400,000 
			 Department of Trade and Industry 700,000 700,000 410,000 — — — 
			 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 1,860,000 1,860,000 1,640,000 1,800,000 1,260,000 —

Aggregates Sustainability Levy Fund

Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much from the Aggregates Levy Fund was allocated to the fund's objective of  (a) minimising the demand for primary aggregates,  (b) promoting environmentally friendly aggregates extraction on land,  (c) promoting environmentally friendly aggregates extraction in the marine environment,  (d) promoting environmentally friendly transport of aggregates,  (e) addressing the environmental impacts of past aggregate extraction and  (f) compensating local communities for the impacts of aggregates extraction in each year since the fund was established.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund's four objectives are:
	1. Minimising the demand for primary aggregates
	2. Promoting environmentally friendly extraction and transport
	3. Addressing the environmental impacts of past aggregates extraction
	4. Compensating local communities for the impacts of aggregates extraction
	The fourth objective was added in April 2005.
	The figures in the following table show the approximate allocations between the four objectives in each of the financial years the fund has been running.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 First Objective 7,200,000 8,940,000 4,060,000 5,980,000 5,446,000 2,700,000 
			 Second Objective 3,660,000 3,487,000 4,480,000 11,170,000 9,134,000 7,700,000 
			 Third Objective 16,710,000 13,379,000 11,772,000 5,790,000 5,153,000 7,200,000 
			 Fourth Objective — — — 3,810,000 2,797,000 2,797,000

Aggregates Sustainability Levy Fund

Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much from the Aggregates Levy Fund was allocated to local authorities in each year since the fund was established.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The figures in the following table show the final allocations to local authorities in each of the financial years the fund has been running.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 800,000 
			 2003-04 800,000 
			 2004-05 642,000 
			 2005-06 3,810,000 
			 2006-07 2,797,000 
			 2007-08 2,797,000

Business: Education

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) schools and  (b) businesses were involved in the Enterprise Summer School Scheme in West Lancashire constituency in 2006; and how many (i) have been and (ii) are expected to be involved in the scheme in 2007.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	The experimental 2006 Enterprise Summer School Scheme was managed for the Government by Young Enterprise, a leading educational charitable organisation. Nationally, we do not hold local information at the level of detail requested.
	In light of evaluation, we are now considering how to develop enterprise summer schools. We have no plans for a further round of enterprise summer schools in 2007, but are developing options for future years.

Contracts: Medical Services

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what involvement his Department had in negotiating the new contract for the delivery of general medical services agreed in June 2003.

Stephen Timms: The general medical services contract was negotiated between the General Practitioners Committee and the NHS Confederation.

Valuation Office Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many laser pens and laser measuring devices the Valuation Office Agency has purchased in the last 36 months; and what the cost has been.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has laser measuring devices, but not laser pens. These are available to staff carrying out property inspections as part of the work of the VOA. The company that provides the laser measuring devices also supplies other items and services to the VOA, which are invoiced together. Therefore, a breakdown of the cost of laser measuring devices could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments  (a) his Department and  (b) the Valuation Office Agency made to Hometrack in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: No payments have been made to Hometrack by either  (a) his Department or  (b) the Valuation Office Agency.

Valuation Office Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the property attributes and data that the HM Revenue and Customs stamp taxes provides to the Valuation Office Agency in relation to domestic dwellings to assist with council tax valuations and revaluations.

Edward Balls: The data which Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs stamp taxes supplies to the Valuation Office Agency is the information included in the land transaction return, which is prescribed by the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Administration) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2837).

Valuation Office Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many photographic identity cards have been issued to staff of the Valuation Office Agency to assist in carrying out valuations of property.

Stephen Timms: The responsibility for issuing photographic identity cards lies with local offices across the Valuation Office Agency. The data on numbers issued are not held centrally and cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 8 May 2006,  Official Report, column 84W.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

John Healey: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Male  Female  Disabled  Over 55 
			  2004 
			 Temporary part-time 1 5 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 49 48 2 0 
			 Permanent part-time 0 3 0 0 
			 Permanent full-time 33 37 3 1 
			  
			  2005 
			 Temporary part-time 1 4 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 41 33 1 1 
			 Permanent part-time 0 3 0 0 
			 Permanent full-time 45 34 1 6 
			  
			  2006 
			 Temporary part-time 2 3 0 0 
			 Temporary full-time 36 41 1 0 
			 Permanent part-time 1 9 0 0 
			 Permanent full-time 29 29 3 3

Departments: Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department uses the categorisation 'mission critical' in relation to departmental projects; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The categorisation "mission critical" is used by Government in relation to departmental projects. The definition of mission critical programmes or projects is published in the NAO report 'Delivering Successful IT enabled Business Change' (November 2006) and is used to define those that are (A) essential to the successful delivery of a major legislative requirement, a PSA target, or a major policy initiative announced and owned by the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister; or (B) if the programme or project is not successful there are catastrophic implications for the delivery of a key public service, national security or the internal operation of a public sector operation.

Departments: Redundancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies there were from his Department in  (a) 2002-03 and  (b) 2006-07; and what the total amount was of compensation payments made in each year.

John Healey: There were no redundancies in the Treasury in 2002-03. The data for 2006-07 are as follows. The costs of compulsory early severance or early retirement are determined according to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
	
		
			  2006-07 
			  £ 
			  Number of redundancies  Cost 
			 3 462,439

Disabled Children

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representative groups about the transition support programme announced in Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.

Edward Balls: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	The disabled children review consulted on a wide range of policy options, including support at transition to adulthood, with voluntary sector representatives, providers, professionals, local government, disabled children and young people and their parents, MPs, and academics, through:
	responses to the Children and Young People review Call for Evidence in 2006;
	joint HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills seminars in July and October 2006;
	a series of parliamentary hearings held in July 2006;
	engagement with the disabled children's pathfinder children's trusts; and
	visits to local authorities and specific providers.

Employment: West Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged 24 years of age or under were considered to be economically inactive in West Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 21 June 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged 24 years of age or under were considered to be economically inactive in west Lancashire in each of the last 10 years. (144967)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of inactivity from the annual local area Labour Force Survey LFS and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation Definitions.
	The attached table shows the number of economically inactive persons, aged 16 to 24, resident in the West Lancashire constituency, from the annual local area LFS for the 12-month periods ending in February from 1997 to 2004 and from the APS for the 12-month periods ending in March from 2005 to 2006, These numbers are also expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Economic inactivity in 16 to 24 year  olds in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency 
			   Economically inactive 16 to 24 year  olds 
			  12 months ending  Level (thousand)  Rate (percentage) 
			 February 1997 3 30 
			 February 1998 4 37 
			 February 1999 2 24 
			 February 2000 3 23 
			 February 2001 4 45 
			 February 2002 3 33 
			 February 2003 4 42 
			 February 2004 2 22 
			 March 2005 3 34 
			 March 2006 3 29 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability, 2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with caution,  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey.

Families

Graham Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) internal evaluations and  (b) external research the Treasury has (i) undertaken and (ii) commissioned on the effects of investment in early intervention with families as opposed to public spending on the consequences of not providing such early intervention; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The Treasury undertakes and commissions a wide range of evaluations. Most recently, the Children and Young People's Review conducted an extensive examination of the existing literature on spending on early intervention activity and preventative support, consulting practitioners, academics and commissioners of services. The review's public Call for Evidence attracted more than a 100 responses, details can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spending_review/spend_csr07/reviews/cyp_review/cypreview_index.cfm
	The conclusions of this evidence and analysis were set out in "Aiming High for Children: Supporting Families" and "Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families".
	"Aiming High for Children: Supporting Families" highlights evidence from the United States that prevention and early intervention can represent a cost-effective response by public services. The conclusions of the review place a new emphasis on building children's resilience through improving attainment in education, good social and emotional skills and positive parenting. This analysis will be supported by significant investment over the next spending period in universal services, such as schools, health services and Sure Start children's centres. These all have a crucial role to play in focusing support on prevention and early intervention. New investment includes:
	£340 million additional funding for Sure Start children's centres, child care and early years by 2010-11;
	building on the Every Child a Reader scheme to help narrow attainment gaps by providing an average of 10 hours, one to one teacher-led tuition for 300,000 under-attaining pupils a year in English and 300,000 in Maths by 2010-11;
	funding so that by 2010-11 schools can offer two hours of free extended activities a week during term time, with two weeks a year of part-time holiday provision for children eligible for free school meals;
	faster roll-out to all schools of the successful Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme;
	intensive support for up to 30,000 parents who most need parenting support, focusing in particular on fathers; and
	a commitment from the Department of Health to examine how health services can best support parents and families in the early years of children's lives, by expanding the scope and duration of the current health-led parenting pilots, subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	"Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families" acknowledged that despite an improvement in the outcomes for disabled children, they are less likely to achieve as much in a range of areas as their non-disabled peers. This report sets out policy proposals to encourage more responsive services and early interventions for disabled children and their families, across social services and health to enhance equality and opportunity for disabled children and their families. Improving their educational, social emotional development, and their opportunities for independent living, choice and control, is a key part of this process.
	This report announced the following provision:
	£280 million over the next three years to fund short breaks for disabled children, meaning an extra 40,000 fortnightly short breaks for severely disabled children and their families to help prevent family breakdown;
	£35 million to fund a pilot project to provide accessible child care, promote training, and tackle other barriers to accessing child care;
	£19 million for a Transition Support Programme to promote wrap around support, and consolidate person-centred planning at the critical transition to adulthood. This builds on the Government's commitment to roll-out the successful Early Support Programme which provides intensive, co-ordinated support early in a disabled child's life;
	radical reform in the co-ordination and provision of community equipment and wheelchairs to maximise disabled children's mobility;
	development of a national indicator as part of the suite of public service agreement targets, underpinned by a 'core offer' to help disabled young people and their parents understand what support they can get and how to access it across local services; and
	specific resources for evaluation and benchmarking good practice on early intervention for disabled children and their families as part of the work of the new Centre for Excellence for Children and Family Services.

Immigration: Greater London

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in funding for  (a) London and  (b) Wimbledon as a result of the change from International Passenger Survey to Labour Force Survey.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office for National Statistics published indicative figures for mid-2002 to mid-2005 to show the effect of a number of improvements to the methodology to estimate the international migration component of the population estimates. These improvements include the use of the Labour Force Survey in combination with the International Passenger Survey to distribute in-flows of international migrants to a regional level.
	No estimates have been made of the distribution of formula grant to any authority based on these indicative figures.

Landfill Tax

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the forecast revenue is from landfill tax in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) each year onwards for which estimates are available in (i) England and (ii) the United Kingdom.

John Healey: UK landfill tax receipts for 2005-06 and a provisional figure for 2006-07 are published by HM Revenue and Customs at http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=Bulletins in the landfill tax bulletin. A projection for 2007-08 receipts is published in Table C8 of the March 2007 Financial Statement and Budget Report.
	Outturn or projected landfill tax receipts for England are not available separately.

Public Sector: Manpower

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the  (a) total population and  (b) number of public sector workers for the period from 2007 to 2057; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what changes to Government assumptions about  (a) public sector staff turnover and  (b) the total number of public sector employees in relation to the total population underlie the new estimates of the future costs of public sector pensions in (i) the 2006 long-term public finance report and (ii) the 2004 long-term public finance report ; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The staff turnover assumptions used in the long-term public finance report are provided by the Government Actuary's Department to reflect the actual experience of the schemes. The 2005 staff turnover assumptions were based on the assumptions adopted for principal civil service pension scheme (PCSPS) based on scheme experience while the 2006 assumptions are a weighted average of PCSPS, NHS pension scheme (NHSPS) and the teachers pension scheme (TPS) experience and assumptions. A technical note detailing staff turnover assumptions for the 2005 cash flow projections for unfunded public service pension schemes was also placed in the House of Commons Library in June 2006 and a note detailing the 2006 projections is published on the Government Actuary's Department website.
	Data used in the LTPFR assumptions is based on scheme membership and not on the total number of public sector employees. HM Treasury does not produce population estimates or projections. The last official population projections were produced by the Government Actuary's Department in 2005 and are publicly available on their website. The Office for National Statistics will be responsible for producing the next set of projections and these will be published on 23 October.

Sequestration of Assets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total value of assets the Asset Freezing Unit is likely to freeze in each of the first three years of its operation on an annual budget.

Edward Balls: Decisions by the Treasury to freeze the assets of suspected terrorists are at all times taken in response to advice from law enforcement and security agencies. It is not possible to estimate the value of assets likely to be frozen in a given year.

Sequestration of Assets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Asset Freezing Unit will become operational; how many full time equivalent staff members it will employ; what its annual budget will be; and what the set up costs will be.

Edward Balls: The Treasury intends to establish a dedicated Asset Freezing Unit by the end of the summer. The unit will be funded from within the Treasury's departmental expenditure limit.

Stamp Duties: Repayments

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received refunds on stamp duty in 2006-07; and how many received such refunds erroneously.

Edward Balls: From 1 December 2003, stamp duty land tax replaced stamp duty for property transactions. During 2006-07 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs issued 7,442 repayments of stamp duty land tax.
	Stamp duty land tax is a self-assessed tax. It is not possible to estimate the number of repayments which should not have been made because a purchaser has incorrectly completed his or her return.

Tax Credit: Pension Funds

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the evidential basis is which supports the statement that the abolition of dividend tax credits in his July 1997 Budget was the right decision for the future of the UK's pension system.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer made to the House and subsequent exchanges on occupational pensions on 17 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 175-79.

HEALTH

Blood Donors

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations she received in each year since 2002 on the National Blood Service's policy that prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

Caroline Flint: The Department is able to provide information for the last three years. This is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Correspondence( 1) 
			 2005 24 
			 2006 27 
			 2007 11 (to date) 
			 (1 )letters that have been identified that are on the issue of gay men excluded from donating blood

Cancer

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the  (a) epidemiological and  (b) statistical correlation between incidences of cancer and (i) mining communities and (ii) iron and steel industry communities.

Rosie Winterton: We are not aware of any departmental assessment looking at the epidemiological and statistical correlation between incidences of cancer in either mining communities or the iron and steel industry communities.

Cancer

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will be diagnosed with lymphoma in the next five years.

Rosie Winterton: We estimate that 57,698 people will be diagnosed with a type of lymphoma between 2008 and 2013.

Cancer

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of lymphoma patients who are able to choose whether to receive their care at home or in a community setting.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published "Improving Outcomes" guidance for patients with haematological cancers, including lymphoma, in October 2003. This guidance covers all aspects of a lymphoma patient pathway, including providing supportive care in both a home and community setting. It is based on the best available evidence and has been put together after wide consultation, drawing on the views of patients and carers as well as the experts in the field.
	The national health service has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the NICE recommendations and has set key milestones for the delivery of the guidance. Implementation will be incremental and will be supported through the increased general funding being provided to the NHS. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities and through peer review.
	We have also provided £6 million of funding for the Integrated Cancer Care programme, which explored models of delivery to help all cancer patients get the best quality of care possible, and to find out the most effective ways to use resources.
	This programme also supported patient choice by engaging patients more actively in decisions about their care. A final report, detailing the development of the programme and the key recommendations, was submitted to Ministers in spring 2007 and has been published on the Department of Health's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_074957
	Additionally, as part of the development of the cancer reform strategy announced last November, we will be considering the most appropriate setting for the delivery of care for cancer patients.

Cancer: Sunitinib

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance her Department gives to primary care trusts for the provision of the drug sunitinib (Sutent) to cancer patients on the NHS;
	(2)  if she will ensure that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence makes an early assessment of the effectiveness of sunitinib (Sutent) for the treatment of cancer patients;
	(3)  what assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of the drug sunitinib (Sutent) for treating cancer patients.

Caroline Flint: Guidance issued by the Department makes it clear that it is not acceptable for national health service organisations to refuse to fund a treatment simply because it has not been appraised by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Pending final guidance, NHS bodies should continue to make local decisions on the use of sunitinib (Sutent), taking account of the available evidence.
	The Department referred sunitinib to NICE on 19 June 2007 for appraisal as part of its 14th work programme.
	The safety, quality and efficacy of a drug is assessed as part of the process for granting a marketing authorisation. Sunitinib has been approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, with contributions from the United Kingdom via membership of its scientific advisory committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human use, for use in the European Union to treat patients with renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stomal tumour. The Department has undertaken no separate assessment of the efficacy of sunitinib.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is available for lymphoma patients to help them comply with their treatments.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published 'Improving outcomes in haemato-oncology cancer' for patients with haematological cancers, including lymphoma, in October 2003. This guidance covers all aspects of a lymphoma patient pathway, including supportive care, and is based on the best available evidence and have been put together after wide consultation, drawing on the views of patients and carers as well as the experts in the field.
	The national health service has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the NICE recommendations and has set key milestones for the delivery of the guidance. Implementation will be incremental and will be supported through the increased general funding being provided to the NHS. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities and through peer review.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of payment by results on the provision of social and psychological support to lymphoma patients.

Rosie Winterton: There has been no formal assessment of the impact of payment by results on the provision of social and psychological support to lymphoma patients.
	Social care is outside the scope of payment by results. Psychology services are excluded from payment by results, except psychological support provided during a patient's stay in hospital. Funding for services that are excluded from payment by results is agreed locally between commissioners and providers.

Cancer: Research

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to review the implementation of the Human Tissue Act 2004 in order to safeguard tissue-banks which may be needed for research into lymphatic cancers and other conditions.

Rosie Winterton: None. The Human Tissue Act 2004 was passed following a considerable amount of parliamentary debate as well as extensive consultation and discussion with a wide range of stakeholders including healthcare professionals, academics and researchers, families affected by organ retention, members of the general public as well as other Departments and the devolved Administrations. It provides a sound regulatory framework that supports research activities, including tissue banking, while maintaining the confidence of both professionals and the public.

Cancer: Tomography

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the impact of lymphoma services of the £20 million extra capital investment to build new PET-CT facilities announced on 12 October 2005;
	(2)  how many PET-CT scanning facilities were available for lymphoma patients in each year since 2004; and where they were located.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect data on the, number, location and clinical use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning and therefore cannot make an assessment of the additional funding made available for lymphoma patients.
	However, 'The National Framework for the Development of PET-CT Services in England' published in 2005 estimated that 15,000 scans were needed for diagnosis and treatment of patients with lymphoma. A National Audit database is currently being developed by the United Kingdom PET-CT Advisory Board. In the future, this database will help to monitor the number of scans recommended against estimates of needs for conditions such as lymphoma.
	Annex C (pages 24-27) of the national framework identifies the PET-CT facilities in England in 2005. A copy of the national framework is available in the Library. In addition, the National Clinical Research Institute (NCRI) also published A 'Framework for PET Research in the UK' in March 2007 and Appendix IX of this report identified the location of current facilities for PET scanning within the national health service only. This report can be found on NCRI's website at www.ncri.org.uk.

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings she has had with groups representing patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Rosie Winterton: There have been no ministerial meetings with groups representing patients with peripheral arterial disease in the past year, but officials have met interested stakeholders from the University of Dundee.

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration her Department has given to the inclusion of strategies to manage peripheral arterial disease in the national stroke strategy.

Rosie Winterton: The national stroke strategy had a project group looking at issues around prevention and raising public awareness. This made broad recommendations which are relevant to peripheral arterial disease, and which will be published for consultation this summer.

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place with regard to identification of patients with peripheral arterial disease as part of the vascular disease risk management programme.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's Vascular Programme Board has considered a presentation about the impact of peripheral arterial disease. This will be considered as part of a broader programme of work exploring the feasibility of a comprehensive vascular risk management programme.

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued by her Department on the use of the ankle brachial pressure index as a means of assessing vascular disease risk.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not issued guidance on the use of on the ankle brachial pressure index on how to assess vascular disease risk.

Carers: Grants

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to continue the carers' grant after April 2008.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1193W.

Dental Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact the new dental contract has had on  (a) care of patients and  (b) working conditions of dentists; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department will shortly be publishing a report, assessing the first 12 months of the new arrangements for local commissioning of dental services and the new contractual arrangements. The new arrangements are designed to support dentists in carrying out less complex and invasive courses of treatment that allow more time for preventative care. This should help promote clinically appropriate care for patients while reducing workload for dentists. It will take time to build up detailed evidence on the impact on patient care and on dental workload and expenses. However, the available evidence suggests that the new arrangements are, as intended, supporting dentists in carrying out less complex courses of treatment.

Dental Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the new dental contract on access to NHS dentistry; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department will be publishing a report later in the summer, assessing the first 12 months of the new arrangements for local commissioning of dental services and the new contractual arrangements. The most recent data show that the proportion of the population accessing national health service dental services in the two-year period ending December 2006 is the same as in the two-year period immediately preceding the reforms. This suggests that access has remained broadly stable during the transition to the new arrangements. The evidence also so far indicates that the NHS is commissioning a steadily increasing volume of NHS dental services.

Dental Services

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has a target for the number of NHS dentists per head of population in  (a) each primary care trust area and  (b) England.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not set targets for numbers of national health service dentists. Under the dental reforms implemented from April 2006, it is for primary care trusts to assess local oral health needs and develop dental services to reflect these needs.

Dental Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of  (a) adults and  (b) children are registered for NHS dentistry in (i) the City of Sunderland, (ii) the North East region and (iii) England.

Rosie Winterton: Under the new national health service dental contractual arrangements, patients do not have to be registered with a dentist to receive NHS care. Information is available on the number of patients receiving NHS dental care or treatment at least once over a 24-month period (patients seen). This is not comparable to registration data for the period before April 2006.
	Section F2 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England Q4: 31 March 2007 report contains information on the number of adult and child patients seen in the 24-month periods ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007 in England, NHS North East and Sunderland teaching primary care trust, expressed as a proportion of the estimated population for each area. This report is available in the Library.
	The report, published by The Information Centre for health and social care, is also available online at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england:-quarter-4:-31-march-2007

Dental Services

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which primary care trusts patients seeking an NHS dentist are  (a) able to make their own arrangements to choose which NHS dentist they see,  (b) allocated a dentist from a central list after a wait of no more than three months and  (c) allocated a dentist from a central list after a wait in excess of three months.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing or commissioning primary dental care services to reflect local needs. It is for PCTs to agree locally with the providers of these services the most effective arrangements to support patients in accessing services.

Dental Services

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have undertaken patient surveys in order to assess patient demand for NHS dentistry in their area.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing or commissioning primary dental care services to reflect local needs. It is for PCTs to decide locally, in consultation with local clinicians and patients, how most effectively to assess these needs.

Dental Services

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis comparisons can be made between the number of NHS patients registered at a dental practice and units of dental activity to assess levels of dental provision before and after the introduction of the new general dental services contract.

Rosie Winterton: The Information Centre for health and social care regularly publishes information on the number of individual patients seen by national health service dentists in England over a 24 month period. The latest data show the position for the 24 months ending 31 March 2007 and is contained in "NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 4: 31 March 2007", which is available in the Library.
	To support comparisons of access before and after the dental reforms introduced in April 2006, the Information Centre reports include information on numbers of individual patients seen in the last 24 months of the previous contractual arrangements, i.e. the period ending 31 March 2006. These data show that the number of patients seen has remained broadly stable throughout the first transitional year of the reforms.
	Units of dental activity are a way of measuring the courses of dental treatment provided for NHS patients, based on grouping courses of treatment into three main bands and applying different weightings to reflect the relative complexity of these bands. The corresponding number of patients seen will vary depending on the complexity of the treatment they require and the frequency with which they re-attend for new courses of treatment.

Dental Services

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which indicators her Department intends to use to compare NHS dental provision before and after the introduction of the new general dental services contracts.

Rosie Winterton: Data are available at national level on the numbers of patients receiving national health service dental services within the most recent two-year period and on the number of courses of treatment provided annually for NHS patients (by treatment band). The Department is supporting primary care trusts in developing a wider range of indicators that can be used locally to measure and benchmark the development of primary dental services.

Dental Services

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the number of individual NHS patients registered and treated under general dental services contracts is recorded.

Rosie Winterton: Patients no longer have to be formally registered with a practice to receive national health service dental services. The information centre for heath and social care published quarterly data on the numbers of individual patients receiving NHS dental care at least once within the most recent two-year period. Numbers of patients seen in the previous 24 months ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 are available in Section Fl of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England Q3: 31 December 2006 report. This report is available in the Library and also at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england-q3:-31-december-2006.

Dental Services: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what total value of NHS orthodontic treatment was carried out in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Data identifying the value of orthodontic courses of treatment alone by financial years and for specific local areas is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However a special analysis of general dental services (GDS) costs over a 12 month reference period from 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 was prepared to help calculate funding levels for the new primary dental service arrangements introduced from 1 April 2006. The following table draws on that analysis and sets out the total payments during that twelve month reference period for all courses of treatment which included an element of orthodontic care in each of the primary care trusts (PCTs) in East Sussex operational at the time.
	
		
			  PCT name  Orthodontic earnings 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 
			 Bexhill and Rother 11,398 
			 Brighton and Hove City 918,052 
			 Eastbourne Downs 493,349 
			 Hastings and St. Leonards 225,155 
			 Sussex Downs and Weald 351,487 
			  Notes:  1. The data relate to claims from dentists working under the terms of the former General Dental Services only. It includes the value of interim payments made during the 12 month period for orthodontic treatments. It excludes orthodontic work carried out within former Personal Dental Service pilots, where the value of orthodontic as opposed to general dental treatments can be less easily identified. This may mean the GDS data above is not fully representative of all elements of orthodontic care in every area.  2. The data is presented by the PCT areas that were operational during the reference period, rather than the new PCTs that assumed responsibility for services from 1 October 2006.  Source:  Dental Practice Division of the NHS Business Services Authority.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) definition and  (b) value is of the units used to calculate NHS dentists' fees.

Rosie Winterton: Under the new contractual arrangements introduced from April 2006, dentists are no longer paid on the basis of separate fees for individual treatments. Dentists or dental practices instead have an agreed annual contract value, paid in monthly instalments, in return for which they carry out an agreed volume of dental services over the course of the year.
	These annual service levels are defined primarily in terms of the courses of treatment provided for national health service patients, but with courses of treatment categorised into three main bands and with different weightings to reflect the relative complexity of these bands. There are separate, though similar, arrangements for defining annual service levels for specialist dental services such as orthodontics. Within the overall contract value, primary care trusts (PCTs) and practices may also arrange for the provision of other services that are not measured through courses of treatment.
	A course of treatment which consists of an examination, diagnosis, e.g. x-rays and oral health advice, and a scale and polish if needed, is recorded as a band 1 treatment. This equates to one unit of dental activity.
	A course of treatment which includes band 1 items together with additional treatment such as fillings, root canal work or extractions, is recorded as a band 2 treatment. This equates to three units of dental activity.
	A course of treatment which includes band 1 and 2 items together with more complex procedures such as crowns, dentures or bridges is recorded as a band 3 treatment. This equates to12 units of dental activity.
	There are additional arrangements for urgent courses of treatment and for certain other categories of treatment such as the issue of prescriptions.
	The relationship between annual contract values and annual service levels, expressed in terms of units of dental activity, varies between contracts. For dentists or dental practices, who had previously provided services under the old general dental services arrangements, the calculation of annual contract values and annual service levels was based on an assessment of overall NHS earnings and corresponding courses of treatment during a 12-month reference period before the start of the reforms. The resulting variations in contract prices reflect, in turn, historic differences in treatment patterns and patients' oral health needs. Subject to these transitional protections, the calculation of annual contract values and corresponding service levels is a matter for agreement locally between primary care trusts and dentists or dental practices.

Dental Services: Manpower

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) dentist to patient and  (b) orthodontist to patient ratio is in each (A) strategic health authority and (B) primary care trust area in England; and what those ratios were in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The requested information has been placed in the Library and shows the number of patients registered with a national health service dentist per number of NHS dentists, by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) in England, as at 31 March for each of the years from 2001 to 2006.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. Under the new NHS dental contractual arrangements, patients do not have to be registered with a dentist to receive NHS care. Information is, however, collected on the number of patients receiving NHS care or treatment at least once within the most recent two-year period (patients seen). This is not comparable to registration data for earlier years.
	The information placed in the Library also shows the number of patients seen in the previous 24 months per number of dentists on open NHS contracts, by SHA and PCT in England, as at 31 December 2006.
	Both these sets of data include NHS orthodontic services, but these services could only be separately identified at disproportionate cost.
	Annex F of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006" contains information comparing the numbers of people resident in each SHA and PCT area with the numbers of dentists providing NHS services in that area as at March for each year from 2001 to 2006.
	This report is available in the Library and is also available on-line at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhsdental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006.
	Section G of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England Q3: 31 December 2006" report contains information comparing the numbers of people resident in each SHA and PCT area with the numbers of dentists on open NHS contracts in that area as at 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006.
	This report is available in the Library and is also available on-line at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england-q3:-31-december-2006.

Dental Services: St. Albans

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS funding went to providing dentistry provision in the St Albans constituency in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) assumed full responsibility for local commissioning of primary care dentistry and received devolved budgets with effect from 1 April 2006. A table listing the primary dental service resource allocations for 2006-07 for all PCTs in England as at 31 July 2006 is available in the Library. PCTs determine the distribution of resources within their areas. A breakdown of the primary dental service resource allocations by constituency areas is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Full year data on expenditure by PCTs on primary dental care in 2006-07 is not yet available.
	Prior to April 2006, most primary dental services were provided under former general dental service (GDS) arrangements. These were demand led services where the pattern of dental expenditure was largely determined by where dentists chose to practice, and how much national health service work they chose to undertake. PCTs were not given fixed GDS funding allocations. In a number of areas, personal dental services (PDS) pilots were also established, where some former GDS dental practices and some directly managed dental services converted to locally commissioned arrangements to test new ways of working and new forms of contract remuneration. PDS pilots were funded by PCTs from supplementary allocations issued by the Department.
	The following table shows the available data on expenditure on the former GDS and PDS services for the constituency of St. Albans for 2004-05 and 2005-06. The difference between gross and net expenditure is the contribution to costs from dental charges collected directly from patients.
	
		
			  Core GDS and PDS dental payments within St. Albans constituency, 2004-05 and 2005-06 ( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4,)( )( 5) 
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 Gross GDS 3.421 3.171 
			 Gross PDS 0.052 0.701 
			 Net GDS 2.389 2.287 
			 Net PDS 0.048 0.508 
			 Gross GDS and PDS 3.473 3.872 
			 Net GDS and PDS 2.437 2.795 
			 (1) Gross GDS payments include adult fees (including item of service and continuing care payments), child fees (including item of service and capitation payments), commitment payments, seniority payments, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave payments, long term sick leave payments, continuing professional development allowances including travel hours, reimbursement of business rates, vocational training grants and clinical audit payments. The following costs are excluded from those data: employer's superannuation costs, vocational trainee salaries and NI contribution costs, clinical audit convenors, clinical audit secretarial support costs and travel expenses, and costs associated with any salaried general dental practitioners and emergency dental services. (2) PDS payment data relate to baseline payments or the agreed regular monthly payments made to PDS practices. The data cannot identify the cost of any PDS services that are directly managed by local NHS trusts, such as certain dental access centres.  (3) In the immediate aftermath of dental practices converting from GDS to PDS pilots, there can be a period of overlapping expenditure as time lags in submitting GDS treatment claims can mean that clearance of GDS arrears coincides with the start of regular PDS payments.  (4) Payments to dental practices are assigned to areas on the basis of practice postcode data. The practices themselves may draw patients from a wider catchment area.  (5) Net payments represent the balance of payments due after taking account of NHS dental charge income collected from patients by dental practices.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care and the NHS Business Services Authority.

Dental Services: St. Albans

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists are working in St. Albans; and how many there were in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006.

Rosie Winterton: Numbers of national health service dentists in regional areas in England as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 are available in the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006". Annex E contains information at strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) area. Information at parliamentary constituency area is available in Annex G.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. Copies of the report are available in the Library and at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006.
	Numbers of NHS dentists in regional areas in England as at 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 are available in Section G of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England Q3: 31 December 2006 report.
	Copies are available in the Library and at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-for-england-q3:-31-december-2006.
	This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements and is not directly comparable with earlier information. Data are only available at SHA and PCT level. To provide these data at constituency level area would be at disproportionate cost. In this report, St. Albans is covered by West Hertfordshire PCT.
	In both sets of figures, no account is taken of the level of service, if any, that each dentist provides.

Dentists: Contracts

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists were operating under  (a) general dental services contracts and  (b) personal dental services agreements in each year since 1997 in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire, (vi) Norfolk and (vii) England.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the form requested. Information on numbers of national health service dentists broken down by general dental services and personal dental services contractual arrangements is available by NHS organisation rather than by county. Information as at 30 September for the years 1997 to 2005 at primary care trust (PCT) level in the requested areas is shown in the following table. (PCT boundaries are as at 30 September 2005).
	These are the latest available data at PCT level.
	
		
			  General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): dentists by contract type in England and the specified primary care trusts (PCTs) as at 30 September each year 1997 to 2005 
			   30 September 1997  30 September 1998  30 September 1999 
			   GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists 
			 England 16,670 0 0 16,670 17,199 0 0 17,199 17,606 92 57 17,755 
			 Basildon PCT 44 0 0 44 45 0 0 45 48 0 0 48 
			 Bedford PCT 52 0 0 52 53 0 0 53 65 0 2 67 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT 67 0 0 67 74 0 0 74 77 0 3 80 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford PCT 58 0 0 58 58 0 0 58 55 0 0 55 
			 Broadland PCT 36 0 0 36 43 0 0 43 49 0 0 49 
			 Cambridge City PCT 67 0 0 67 64 0 0 64 68 0 0 68 
			 Castle Point and Rochford PCT 53 0 0 53 53 0 0 53 56 0 0 56 
			 Central Suffolk PCT 22 0 0 22 24 0 0 24 26 0 0 26 
			 Chelmsford PCT 50 0 0 50 52 0 0 52 54 0 0 54 
			 Colchester PCT 72 0 0 72 76 0 0 76 70 0 3 73 
			 Dacorum PCT 70 0 0 70 73 0 0 73 71 0 0 71 
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 34 0 0 34 37 0 0 37 38 0 0 38 
			 Epping Forest PCT 51 0 0 51 52 0 0 52 49 0 0 49 
			 Great Yarmouth PCT 45 0 0 45 49 0 0 49 48 0 0 48 
			 Harlow PCT 27 0 0 27 28 0 0 28 34 0 0 34 
			 Hertsmere PCT 45 0 0 45 49 0 0 49 52 0 0 52 
			 Huntingdonshire PCT 48 0 0 48 48 0 0 48 51 0 0 51 
			 Ipswich PCT 63 0 0 63 64 0 0 64 65 0 0 65 
			 Luton PCT 65 0 0 65 72 0 0 72 74 0 0 74 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 32 0 0 32 32 0 0 32 38 0 0 38 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage PCT 88 0 0 88 83 0 0 83 86 0 0 86 
			 North Norfolk PCT 33 0 0 33 35 0 0 35 39 0 0 39 
			 North Peterborough PCT 35 0 0 35 33 0 0 33 37 0 0 37 
			 Norwich PCT 83 0 0 83 88 0 0 88 77 0 0 77 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford PCT 35 0 0 35 40 0 0 40 44 0 0 44 
			 South Cambridgeshire PCT 19 0 0 19 27 0 0 27 28 0 0 28 
			 South East Hertfordshire PCT 67 0 0 67 67 0 0 67 68 0 0 68 
			 South Peterborough PCT 25 0 0 25 26 0 0 26 26 0 0 26 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 57 0 0 57 62 0 0 62 64 0 0 64 
			 Southern Norfolk PCT 58 0 0 58 69 0 0 69 84 0 0 84 
			 St Albans and Harpenden PCT 75 0 0 75 75 0 0 75 75 0 0 75 
			 Suffolk Coastal PCT 29 0 0 29 29 0 0 29 33 0 0 33 
			 Suffolk West PCT 79 0 0 79 77 0 0 77 85 0 0 85 
			 Tendring PCT 37 0 0 37 40 0 0 40 43 0 0 43 
			 Thurrock PCT 33 0 0 33 32 0 0 32 33 0 0 33 
			 Uttlesford PCT 25 0 0 25 27 0 0 27 26 0 0 26 
			 Watford and Three Rivers PCT 78 0 0 78 86 0 0 86 108 0 0 108 
			 Waveney PCT 52 0 0 52 53 0 0 53 51 0 0 51 
			 Welwyn Hatfield PCT 50 0 0 50 52 0 0 52 47 0 0 47 
			 West Norfolk PCT 39 0 0 39 40 0 0 40 41 0 0 41 
			 Witham Braintree and Halstead Care Trust 35 0 0 35 33 0 0 33 30 0 0 30 
		
	
	
		
			   30 September 2000  30 September 2001  30 September 2002 
			   GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists 
			 England 17,845 190 132 18,167 17,970 470 282 18,722 17,995 622 329 18,946 
			  
			 Basildon PCT 45 0 0 45 47 0 0 47 46 0 0 46 
			 Bedford PCT 68 1 2 71 60 12 9 81 57 19 4 80 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT 77 0 3 80 84 13 3 100 75 18 2 95 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford PCT 68 0 0 68 68 0 0 68 67 0 0 67 
			 Broadland PCT 51 0 0 51 52 0 0 52 52 0 0 52 
			 Cambridge City PCT 76 0 0 76 81 0 0 81 83 0 0 83 
			 Castle Point and Rochford PCT 55 0 0 55 54 0 0 54 52 0 0 52 
			 Central Suffolk PCT 27 0 0 27 24 0 0 24 23 0 0 23 
			 Chelmsford PCT 50 0 0 50 52 0 0 52 53 0 0 53 
			 Colchester PCT 69 0 3 72 75 0 4 79 73 0 5 78 
			 Dacorum PCT 81 0 0 81 81 0 0 81 84 0 0 84 
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 41 0 0 41 42 7 0 49 44 8 0 52 
			 Epping Forest PCT 53 0 0 53 54 0 0 54 49 0 0 49 
			 Great Yarmouth PCT 46 0 0 46 49 0 0 49 43 0 0 43 
			 Harlow PCT 39 0 0 39 36 0 0 36 32 0 0 32 
			 Hertsmere PCT 50 0 0 50 52 0 0 52 51 0 0 51 
			 Huntingdonshire PCT 52 0 0 52 53 0 0 53 50 0 0 50 
			 Ipswich PCT 65 0 0 65 66 0 0 66 68 0 0 68 
			 Luton PCT 76 3 0 79 75 14 0 89 73 18 0 91 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 32 0 0 32 31 0 0 31 29 0 0 29 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage PCT 90 0 0 90 96 0 0 96 96 0 0 96 
			 North Norfolk PCT 39 0 0 39 47 0 0 47 45 0 0 45 
			 North Peterborough PCT 41 2 0 43 42 5 1 48 47 7 0 54 
			 Norwich PCT 72 0 0 72 70 0 0 70 71 2 0 73 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford PCT 39 0 0 39 43 0 0 43 42 0 0 42 
			 South Cambridgeshire PCT 26 0 0 26 26 0 0 26 27 0 0 27 
			 South East Hertfordshire PCT 74 0 0 74 79 0 0 79 80 0 0 80 
			 South Peterborough PCT 32 0 0 32 31 0 0 31 31 0 0 31 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 65 0 0 65 65 0 0 65 62 0 0 62 
			 Southern Norfolk PCT 85 0 0 85 83 0 0 83 86 0 0 86 
			 St Albans and Harpenden PCT 76 0 0 76 85 0 0 85 89 0 0 89 
			 Suffolk Coastal PCT 32 0 0 32 30 0 0 30 27 0 0 27 
			 Suffolk West PCT 84 0 2 86 89 3 2 94 98 4 3 105 
			 Tendring PCT 44 0 0 44 46 0 0 46 45 0 0 45 
			 Thurrock PCT 43 0 0 43 40 0 0 40 42 0 0 42 
			 Uttlesford PCT 27 0 0 27 27 0 0 27 27 0 0 27 
			 Watford and Three Rivers PCT 112 0 0 112 108 0 0 108 106 0 0 106 
			 Waveney PCT 51 0 0 51 53 0 0 53 53 0 0 53 
			 Welwyn Hatfield PCT 51 0 0 51 52 0 0 52 55 0 0 55 
			 West Norfolk PCT 46 0 0 46 48 5 2 55 46 5 3 54 
			 Witham Braintree and Halstead Care Trust 40 0 0 40 37 0 0 37 37 0 0 37 
		
	
	
		
			   30 September 2003  30 September 2004  30 September 2005 
			   GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists  GDS only  PDS only  GDS and PDS  Total GDS and PDS dentists 
			 England 18,151 726 383 19,260 17,023 1,857 842 19,722 13,801 5,149 1,940 20,890 
			  
			 Basildon PCT 44 0 0 44 46 0 0 46 52 0 0 52 
			 Bedford PCT 51 26 1 78 51 30 1 82 52 39 1 92 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands PCT 77 24 2 103 76 29 0 105 73 43 1 117 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford PCT 70 0 0 70 69 0 0 69 70 7 0 77 
			 Broadland PCT 58 0 0 58 55 0 0 55 32 30 0 62 
			 Cambridge City PCT 92 0 0 92 91 6 1 98 69 23 1 93 
			 Castle Point and Rochford PCT 46 0 0 46 53 0 0 53 40 23 1 64 
			 Central Suffolk PCT 24 0 0 24 22 0 0 22 20 4 0 24 
			 Chelmsford PCT 56 0 0 56 55 0 0 55 38 20 0 58 
			 Colchester PCT 76 0 5 81 71 0 5 76 64 10 6 80 
			 Dacorum PCT 81 0 0 81 84 0 0 84 87 0 0 87 
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 43 14 0 57 46 22 0 68 38 30 0 68 
			 Epping Forest PCT 51 0 0 51 49 0 0 49 47 4 1 52 
			 Great Yarmouth PCT 45 0 0 45 39 0 0 39 14 31 0 45 
			 Harlow PCT 31 0 0 31 36 0 0 36 41 0 0 41 
			 Hertsmere PCT 51 0 0 51 52 0 0 52 54 4 1 59 
			 Huntingdonshire PCT 54 0 0 54 54 5 0 59 33 33 0 66 
			 Ipswich PCT 66 0 1 67 66 0 1 67 63 6 1 70 
			 Luton PCT 71 16 0 87 67 19 0 86 73 25 0 98 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT 29 0 0 29 29 0 0 29 18 13 0 31 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage PCT 93 0 0 93 96 0 0 96 90 6 1 97 
			 North Norfolk PCT 45 1 0 46 45 1 0 46 45 2 0 47 
			 North Peterborough PCT 49 12 0 61 53 18 0 71 28 34 2 64 
			 Norwich PCT 79 3 0 82 79 3 0 82 78 9 0 87 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford PCT 44 0 0 44 46 0 0 46 41 3 0 44 
			 South Cambridgeshire PCT 27 0 0 27 28 0 0 28 26 $ 0 29 
			 South East Hertfordshire PCT 83 0 0 83 87 0 0 87 97 0 0 97 
			 South Peterborough PCT 32 0 0 32 31 0 0 31 26 10 0 36 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 61 0 0 61 60 0 0 60 47 18 0 65 
			 Southern Norfolk PCT 99 0 0 99 101 0 0 101 69 38 0 107 
			 St Albans and Harpenden PCT 96 0 0 96 100 0 0 100 89 7 0 96 
			 Suffolk Coastal PCT 27 0 0 27 31 0 0 31 24 4 0 28 
			 Suffolk West PCT 102 6 2 110 106 7 2 115 78 37 2 117 
			 Tendring PCT 45 0 0 45 46 0 0 46 42 10 2 54 
			 Thurrock PCT 44 0 0 44 43 0 0 43 44 6 0 50 
			 Uttlesford PCT 27 0 0 27 27 0 0 27 23 5 0 28 
			 Watford and Three Rivers PCT 105 0 0 105 108 0 0 108 108 2 0 110 
			 Waveney PCT 53 0 0 53 52 0 0 52 25 22 0 47 
			 Welwyn Hatfield PCT 64 0 0 64 69 0 0 69 67 0 0 67 
			 West Norfolk PCT 44 8 1 53 42 12 4 58 30 24 7 61 
			 Witham Braintree and Halstead Care Trust 35 0 0 35 40 0 0 40 32 15 0 47 
			  Notes: 1. PCT boundaries are as at 30 September 2006. 2. Dentists will be counted more than once if they have contracts in more than one PCT. England totals exclude duplication. 3. The figures are based on the numbers of dentists with open GDS or PDS contracts. 4. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. 5. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the PCT. 6. Data include notifications received by the NHS BSA up to 2 November 2005 for England data and 13 January 2006 for PCT data. 7. No account is taken of the level of service, if any, that each dentist provides.  Sources: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care 2. NHS Business Services Authority (BSA)

Departments: Opinion Leader Research

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) value and  (b) purpose was of each payment made by her Department to Opinion Leader Research since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The Department paid the following amounts to Opinion Leader Research.
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2002-03 47,762.59 
			 2003-04 68,859.25 
			 2004-05 48,175.00 
			 2005-06 4,772.86 
			 2006-07 71,674.99 
			 2007-08 (to May) 70,500.00 
		
	
	The company was commissioned to undertake a number of studies to support and inform policy development within the Department.
	Data for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Personnel

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided in 2007-08 for the funding of displaced staff within her Department.

Rosie Winterton: This information can be found on page 14 of the 2007-08 business plan, which has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_073546

Departments: Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what properties her Department  (a) owned and  (b) rented in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department owns and has owned the following property for the last five years:
	Richmond House, Whitehall, London
	54 Whitehall, London
	Wellington House, Waterloo Road, London
	The Department has rented the following properties in each of the last five years
	
		
			  Property  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Bartholomew House, Birmingham X — — — — 
			 Belgrave Road, London — X X X — 
			 Berkeley Square, Bristol X X — — — 
			 Canons Park, Stanmore X X X X — 
			 Chalfont Drive, Nottingham X X X — — 
			 Cressington House, Liverpool X X — — — 
			 Dominions House, Bristol — — X X — 
			 Eastbourne Terrace, London X X — — — 
			 Eastway Business Park, Preston — — X X — 
			 Eileen House, London X X X X — 
			 Fulwood House, Sheffield X — — — — 
			 Hannibal House, London X X X X — 
			 Heron House, London — X X X — 
			 Hinchley Wood, Surbiton X X X X — 
			 J. Rothschild House, Nottingham X X — — — 
			 St. James Place House, Nottingham X X — — — 
			 John Snow House, Durham X — — — — 
			 11 Strand, London X X X X — 
			 Ladywood House, Birmingham X X — — — 
			 Market Towers, London X X X X — 
			 Block A, Millenium Park, Warrington X X X X — 
			 Block B, Millenium Park, Warrington X X —- — — 
			 Premier Buildings, Nelson X X X X X 
			 New Kings Beam House, London — — X X X 
			 Quarry House, Leeds X X X X X 
			 Piccadilly Exchange, Manchester — — X — — 
			 Skipton House, London X X X X X 
			 The Sanctuary, London X X — — — 
			 Tynebridge Tower, Gateshead X X X — — 
			 Waterloo International Terminal, London X X X — — 
			 West Point, Manchester X X — — — 
			 Westwood House, Bristol X X — — — 
			  Notes: X = rented properties

Departments: Recruitment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department and its agencies paid to recruitment consultants in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Travel Agents

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies' fees in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The net payment made to travel agencies by the Department since 1997 has been:
	
		
			   Net payment  (£) 
			 1997-98 (1)— 
			 1998-99 27,840 
			 1999-2000 46,469 
			 2000-01 32,700 
			 2001-02 (2)0 
			 2002-03 15,329 
			 2003-04 36,966 
			 2004-05 15,687 
			 2005-06 66,780 
			 2006-07 24,443 
			 (1) No record.  (2) Travel agency fees 2001-02—nil net costs. In that year, the Department contracted with Carlson Wagonlit. This company received commissions from the rail and air operating companies to offset the management/contract costs charged to the Department. In other years, companies invoiced the Department for payment of these costs.

Departments: Vetting

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Ministers in her Department have been Criminal Records Bureau checked.

Ivan Lewis: Ministers are not security vetted by Departments.

Diabetes

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to prevent cases of diabetes.

Rosie Winterton: We are committed to preventing as many cases of diabetes as possible. Obesity is one of the major causes of type 2 diabetes and tackling obesity, working through national and local partnerships, is a key departmental objective. The Government have a public service agreement (PSA) target, which is jointly owned by three Departments, to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children aged under 11 by 2010—in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole. As childhood obesity often tracks into adulthood, the PSA-owning Departments are working to support families to eat more healthily and be more active.

Doctors: Qualifications

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Indian doctors there are in the UK on highly skilled migrant programme visas who have not yet received a postgraduate certificate.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

Doctors: Recruitment

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what period of time will elapse between second round interview job offers to junior doctors and the commencement of the posts offered.

Rosie Winterton: The further recruitment round will be managed locally so the period of time between offers and the commencement of the posts will vary depending on speciality and location.

Doctors: Recruitment

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the functionality of the application process used in Modernising Medical Careers; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has received representations in the form of e-mails and letters concerning the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) programme.
	The Department has also had meetings with many stakeholders. We also set up an independent review of the MMC recruitment and selection process. This is being led by Professor Neil Douglas, Vice Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Members of the review group include representatives of the Royal colleges, the British Medical Association, the four United Kingdom Health Departments and NHS Employers.

Junior Doctors: Training

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many posts were available for junior doctors through the Medical Training Application System (MTAS) in round one; how many applicants for these posts there were; whether there were any new training posts in round two; and how many applicants per training post there were for those posts available through MTAS;
	(2)  when she will answer question 134104, tabled by the hon. Member for Yeovil on 24 April 2007, on the Medical Training Application Service.

Rosie Winterton: The number of posts available for the 2007 recruitment process is in the following table.
	
		
			  Posts on MTAS 
			   Run through  FTSTA  Academic  Total  Round one posts not on MTAS added after 19 April( 1)  Estimated GP posts filled outside MTAS  New run through programmes in Round 2  Estimated new FTSTAs and GP posts in Round 2( 1)  Overall total of training posts in 2007( 2) 
			 UK 14,595 4,392 185 19,172 108 3,450 215 302 23,247 
			 England 11,916 3,485 182 15,583 108 2,828 215 302 19,036 
		
	
	Across the UK 34,389 candidates submitted applications on Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) during the first recruitment round and made 127,948 applications. Of these 32,600(3) applicants made at least one eligible application and a total of 118,600(3) eligible applications are recorded on the MTAS system. Of the eligible applicants 29,600(3) were already working in training or non-training posts in the national health service.
	The MTAS data provide the number of applications per post not applicants per post. Based on the MTAS extract dated 19 April there were 6.2 applications per post.
	(1) Taken from a survey of English deaneries on 14 June. Figure only includes the posts in England and not those in the devolved Administrations because the survey only covered English deaneries. We expect there to be additional new posts in the devolved Administrations.
	(2) As set out in note 1, the United Kingdom total does not include the new Round 2 posts in the devolved Administrations.
	(3) This figure is an estimate derived by inference from the data provided by applicants on the MTAS system.

Junior Doctors: Training

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information has been made public by  (a) her and  (b) Ministers in her Department and  (c) other representatives on (i) matching algorithms and (ii) other matters relating to Medical Training Application Service and Modernising Medical Careers that were not included in (A) her Written Statement of 15 May and (B) her response to the Urgent Question on 16 May; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The applicant's guide, which was first published on 30 November 2006, provided detailed information about the recruitment process, including how applicants would be matched to posts. Since the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) Review began, a series of communications has been sent to applicants and recruitment teams and the applicant's guide has been revised. All of this information is available on the MMC website at www.mmc.nhs.uk.
	Further background and information on the decision not to proceed with designing an algorithm to match applicants to posts was included in the Department's witness statements to the Judicial Review brought by Remedy UK. Copies of these two statements have been placed in the Library.

Junior Doctors: Training

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she made of the cost of administering each on-line job application by a junior doctor in the latest period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The costs of administering junior doctor applications are not collected centrally. Processing costs will vary depending on local deanery arrangements. On-line application enables deaneries to reduce advertising, printing and distribution costs.

Junior Doctors: Training

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applicants to the Medical Training Application Service were from St. Albans constituency.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Junior Doctors: Training

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what distinction was made between applicants from outside the EU and EU citizens by the Medical Training Application Service.

Rosie Winterton: All applicants in the current recruitment to specialty training must meet the eligibility requirements that applied on 5 February 2007, regardless of their nationality. Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements who are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) will be considered on the same basis as United Kingdom and EEA applicants unless they require a work permit.

Junior Doctors: Training

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the clarity of advice on requirement of the Home Office Passport Stamp in the applicants' guide of January 2007 for the Medical Training Application Service; why the date of 5 February was chosen; whether potential delays in obtaining the stamp were taken into account; and if she will change the requirement to 1 August;
	(2)  whether the applicants' guide for the Medical Training Application Service refers to migrant status and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme;
	(3)  whether  (a) her Department and  (b) the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board can vary the 5 February deadline for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme status passport stamp.

Rosie Winterton: The application form made clear that evidence of immigration status should include an appropriately stamped passport.
	To ensure consistency in the assessment of applications it was agreed that eligibility criteria for applications to specialty training had to be met on the final date of application, 5 February. This included the assessment of immigration status. To change this date or allow exceptions to it would be impractical and unfair.
	The current applicants' guide, available on the Modernising Medical Careers website, is clear that immigration status will be assessed as of the 5 February 2007.

Junior Doctors: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Office of Government Commerce carried out a Gateway Review of the Medical Training Application Service.

Rosie Winterton: No. However Medical Training Application Service was included in the Modernising Medical Careers Health Gateway programme review in September 2006.

Doctors: Vacancies

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS posts available for F2 doctors are training posts; and how many vacancies are short fixed-term contracts.

Rosie Winterton: On Medical Training Application Service as at 19 April there were 7,687 specialist training level 1 (ST1) posts available for foundation level 2 (F2) doctors, of these 6,058 are for run-through and 1,529 are for fixed term specialist training appointments (FTSTA). FTSTAs are also training posts.
	The further recruitment round will contain an estimated 302 additional FTSTAs and general practitioner training posts, but it is not yet possible to identify which of these will be at ST1 level.
	For those who have successfully completed the Modernising Medical Careers foundation training programme and who demonstrate their ability to progress, there will be still further new training programmes through one-year fixed term appointments. We are asking the Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board to expedite the approval of these programmes.

Doctors: Vacancies

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of F2 doctors who have been trained but who will not have an NHS post from August.

Rosie Winterton: Deaneries are currently making Round 1 offers to applicants. When this process is complete we will then be able to estimate the likely numbers of F2 doctors who will not secure a specialty training place at the end of the process (Rounds 1 and 2).

Doctors: Vacancies

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written statement of 15 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 30-31WS, on medical training (recruitment), how many and what proportion of jobs will go into round two; if she will allow doctors who could not or who mistakenly did not apply for round one to be considered for round two; whether an applicant may delay responding to a round one offer from a second choice until she or he has heard from the first choice; and how the results of the additional interviews which have been arranged as part of round one will be integrated with the results of the original round one interviews.

Rosie Winterton: It is not yet clear how many jobs will go into the further recruitment round as not all job offers have been made and accepted from the first round. The applicant guidance makes clear that the further recruitment round will be restricted to those applicants who have enrolled on Medical Training Application Service and have either declined all offers made to them in round one, have accepted a fixed-term specialty training appointment but would like to apply for a run-through post, or who have not been successful in the first round.
	Up to the 10 June deadline, applicants were able to delay responding to a round one offer to see if another offer was made. Offers of posts after 11 June and before 22 June must be accepted or declined within a 48-hour period.
	Deaneries integrated the results of the original round one interviews and the further interviews on a local basis.

Doctors: Vacancies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 613-7, on the Medical Training Application Service, how many GP training posts are being filled in the UK.

Rosie Winterton: In the United Kingdom, there are 3,864 general practice posts being filled by the Medical Training Application Service system. An additional 3,450 general practitioner (GP) posts (for GPs already working in a training environment) were filled outside MTAS, creating a total of 7,314 GP training posts in the UK.

Elderly: Abuse

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department plans to take in response to the UK study into the prevalence of elder abuse; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  when her Department  (a) commissioned and  (b) received the UK study of prevalence of elder abuse;
	(3)  if she will commission research into the prevalence of abuse of older people who are  (a) resident in care homes and  (b) suffering from dementia; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what representations she has received on  (a) the abuse of older people and  (b) the findings of the UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People report.

Ivan Lewis: The Department will introduce a new monitoring system to report the extent of abuse, based on a new national standardised method for the collection of data on referrals in England. The Department will also review the "No Secrets" guidance on developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. The case for legislation will be considered as part of the review.
	The report, "UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People, Prevalence Survey Report", was commissioned jointly by the Department and Comic Relief in August 2005. A draft report of the findings of the prevalence survey was submitted at the end of March 2007. Independent peer reviews were commissioned at the beginning of April 2007 and received at the end of April. The final draft of the prevalence survey report was received on 17 May 2007 and published on 14 June.
	The research, which was produced by the Institute of Gerontology, Kings College, London and the National Centre for Social Research, involved a feasibility study of the ethical and methodological issues that would be faced by extending the work to residential care homes. This is the last stage of the commissioned study and is due to be submitted to the Department in mid July. This will enable the Department to assess if, and how, it may be possible to commission further research with residential care populations.
	The prevalence survey will have included people with dementia, where they were able to give consent to be interviewed. No proxy interviews, however, were undertaken for those without the ability to consent. Research with people who have severe dementia is extremely difficult, but there are research teams working on innovative methods for involving people with cognitive impairment. The Department's research governance framework reminds researchers of the importance of working as inclusively as possible and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a framework to enable those without capacity to be safely involved in research, where appropriate.
	To date, the Department has received a wide range of representations on the abuse of older people. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend Lord Hunt, the Minister of State on 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 94.

Electromagnetic Fields: Health Hazards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instigate an official inquiry into the potential effects on health of the roll-out of Wi-Fi technology.

Caroline Flint: The independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) undertook a comprehensive assessment of radio waves and health in 2003. Its report, entitled 'Health Effects from Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields', was published by the then National Radiological Protection Board (now the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency (HPA)). Copies are available in the Library and on the HPA web site:
	www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/publications/documents_of_nrpb/abstracts/absdl4-2.htm
	All devices that emit radio waves (such as wireless internet) should be used in compliance with the exposure guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as specified in the European Recommendation on limiting public exposure to electromagnetic fields (EC/519/1999).
	Information about wireless devices and health is available on the Department's web site at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmeatureLeaders/ChiefMedicalOfficer/Features/FeaturesArchive/Browsable/DH_5369553.
	The Government acknowledge further advice provided by the HPA at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/understand/radiation_topics/emf/wifi.htm
	This states:
	'There is no consistent evidence to date that wireless fidelity (WiFi) and wireless local area networks adversely affect the health of the general population. The signals are very low power, typically 0.1 watt (100 milliwatts) in both the computer and the router (access point) and the results so far show exposures are well within internationally accepted (ICNIRP) guidelines. Based on current knowledge and experience, radio frequency (RF) exposures from WiFi are likely to be lower than those from mobile phones. Also, the frequencies used in WiFi are broadly the same as those from traditional RF applications.'

Food: Labelling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received on food labelling.

Caroline Flint: Food labelling is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency, which reports to Parliament through health Ministers. The agency is in regular contact with a wide range of stakeholders on a number of food labelling issues.

General Practitioners: West Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there were in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  for specified organisations, as at 1997-2006—England 
			  Number (headcount) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2) 
			 Q31 North West   
			  GMPs(1) 3,848 3,879 3,919 3,931 3,934 4,010 4,117 4,214 4,311 4,392 
			  GMPs(1) per 100,000 population 56.6 57.1 57.9 58.0 57.8 58.8 60.2 61.4 62.7 63.8 
			  O f which:
			 5F3 West Lancashire PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 58 61 61 60 61 — 
			  GMPs(1) per 100,000 population — — — — 53.5 56.1 56.0 55.0 55.9 — 
			 
			 5F2 Chorley and South Ribble PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 112 113 113 119 122 — 
			  GMPs(1 )per 100,000 population — — — — 54.8 54.9 54.6 57.1 58.5 — 
			 
			 5HD Preston PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 71 85 85 86 88 — 
			  GMPs(1 )per 100,000 population — — — — 50.3 60.1 60.1 60.6 62.0 — 
			 
			 5NG Central Lancashire PCT(3)   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — — — — — — 261 
			  GMPs(1)per 100,000 population — — — — — — — — — 58.0 
			 (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes general practitioner (GP) providers and GP others. (2) Mid year 2005 Office for National Statistics population data have been used for the 2006 organisation level calculation of GPs per 100,000. These figures are therefore subject to change. (3) Central Lancashire PCT was formed on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of West Lancashire PCT and Chorley and South Ribble PCT, and the majority of Preston PCT.  Note: GP data as at 1 October 1997-99, 30 September 2000-06.  Sources: The Information Centre, General and Personal Medical Services Statistics. ONS Population Census.

General Practitioners: West Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there were in West Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  for specified organisations, as at 1997-2006—England 
			  Number (headcount) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2) 
			 Q31 North West   
			  GMPs(1) 3,848 3,879 3,919 3,931 3,934 4,010 4,117 4,214 4,311 4,392 
			  GMPs(1) per 100,000 population 56.6 57.1 57.9 58.0 57.8 58.8 60.2 61.4 62.7 63.8 
			  O f which:
			 5F3 West Lancashire PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 58 61 61 60 61 — 
			  GMPs(1) per 100,000 population — — — — 53.5 56.1 56.0 55.0 55.9 — 
			 
			 5F2 Chorley and South Ribble PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 112 113 113 119 122 — 
			  GMPs(1 )per 100,000 population — — — — 54.8 54.9 54.6 57.1 58.5 — 
			 
			 5HD Preston PCT   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — 71 85 85 86 88 — 
			  GMPs(1 )per 100,000 population — — — — 50.3 60.1 60.1 60.6 62.0 — 
			 
			 5NG Central Lancashire PCT(3)   
			  GMPs(1) — — — — — — — — — 261 
			  GMPs(1)per 100,000 population — — — — — — — — — 58.0 
			 '—' Denotes data not available. (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes general practitioner (GP) providers and GP others. (2) Mid year 2005 ONS population data have been used for the 2006 organisation level calculation of GPs per 100,000. These figures are therefore subject to change. (3) Central Lancashire PCT was formed on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of West Lancashire PCT and Chorley and South Ribble PCT, and the majority of Preston PCT.  Note: GP data as at 1 October 1997-99, 30 September 2000-06.  Sources: The Information Centre, General and Personal Medical Services Statistics. ONS Population Census.

Cluster Headaches: Medical Treatments

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatment is provided by the NHS for cluster headaches; whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been consulted on possible treatments for the problem; and what representations she has received on the effectiveness of occipital nerve stimulation as a procedure for treating cluster headaches.

Ivan Lewis: A range of pharmacological interventions are available to prevent the occurrence of cluster headaches, and to relieve the pain of attacks. It is the responsibility of health professionals to consider what treatment is the most appropriate for their patients, in consultation with the patient and informed by their medical history. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has not been consulted on treatments for cluster headaches.
	The Department has not received representations on the effectiveness of occipital nerve stimulation in the treatment of cluster headaches.

Health Services: Overseas Visitors

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the outstanding amount of money owed by foreign nationals for the use of NHS facilities.

Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to provide the information requested. Successive Governments have not required the national health service to provide statistics on the number of foreign nationals seen, treated or charged under the provisions of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, nor any costs involved.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether treatment under the European Health Insurance Card is paid for by the country where the card originated, the country where the treatment is given or the country where the patient is normally resident.

Rosie Winterton: Under European Union regulations, the member state who issues the European Health Insurance Card is responsible for payment when any treatment is given.

Health Services: Training

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what  (a) funding for training purposes was provided to and  (b) expenditure on training was made by each strategic health authority in 2006-07;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 162W, on the NHS: training, what funding for training purposes was allocated to strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2006-07, broken down by SHA; and what the actual expenditure on training was in each authority.

Rosie Winterton: The funding provided to strategic health authorities for training and education in 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2006-07 multi professional education and training (MPET) allocations 
			  Strategic health authority (SHA)  Total MPET allocations (£000) 
			 East Midlands SHA 276,532 
			 East of England SHA 291,090 
			 London SHA 898,301 
			 North East SHA 199,527 
			 North West SHA 499,511 
			 South Central SHA 256,782 
			 South East Coast SHA 201,456 
			 South West SHA 308,193 
			 West Midlands SHA 350,911 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside SHA 484,048 
			 England Total 3,766,349 
		
	
	The actual amount spent on education for 2006-07 is not yet known.
	The Department of Health is in the process of collecting returns relating to expenditure on education and training in 2006-07. Validated data are expected to be available by the end of June 2007.

Health Visitors

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent health visitor posts there were in each year since 1997, broken down by primary care trust; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: This information has been placed in the Library.
	Primary care trusts were first introduced in 2001-02, so we have produced a table showing health visiting staff by organisation in the period 2001 to 2006.

Health Visitors: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were employed in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is only available from 2002 onwards. The number of community health professionals, which includes health visitors, in the East Sussex Downs and Weald primary care trust (PCT) area since 2002 is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified community nurses in the East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Total qualified community nurses 496 494 525 571 598 
			 District nurses 75 66 66 53 27 
			 Health visitors 91 84 75 81 42 
			 School nursing nurses — 14 15 16 16 
			 Other qualified community services nurses 205 220 243 285 348 
			 Community psychiatric nurses 4 — — — — 
			 Community learning disabilities nurses — — — — 1 
			 GP practice nurses 121 110 126 136 164 
			  Notes: 1. On 1 October Sussex Downs and Weald PCT was formed from a complete merger of Eastbourne Downs and Sussex Downs and Weald PCTs. 2006 figures are as at 1 October 2006. 2002-05 figures are an aggregate of the two predecessor organisations. 2. More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total work force figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated, the level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full-time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Sources: 1. The information centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. 2. The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Heart Diseases/Cancer

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent comparative assessment she has made of survival rates for  (a) heart attack and  (b) cancers with those of other (i) EU and (ii) Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries; and what such assessment she has made of rates (A) 10 and (B) 20 years ago.

Rosie Winterton: Data are not collected centrally for heart attacks.
	Cancer registries in England participate in the Eurocare Project, which measures and explains differences in cancer survival rates across Europe. Twenty countries participate in the project covering a total population of 100 million.
	The latest report, EUROCARE-3, tracks patients who were diagnosed with cancer between 1990 and 1994 and followed up to 1999. It puts England in the middle ranking for survival rates, roughly below other Western European countries and above Eastern European Countries.
	The next report, EUROCARE-4, which is due later this year tracks patients diagnosed in 1995-2002 and followed up to 2003. We believe that the next publication of figures will show that the gap between England and other Western European countries has narrowed. Earlier reports cover cancer patients who were diagnosed between 1978 and 1985, and followed up to 1990 (EUROCARE) and those diagnosed between 1985 and 1989, and followed up to 1994 (EUROCARE-2).

Heart Diseases: Screening

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1130W, on heart diseases: screening, what further detailed practical work on abdominal aortic aneurysm screening implementation should be undertaken to ensure a phased roll out of a national screening programme for men aged 65 years and over; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what response her Department has made to the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Working Group's recommendations, submitted in their progress report to the National Screening Committee's meeting in March 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) is considering the practical implications that would be involved in implementing a screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Further detailed work under the auspice of the NSC is being undertaken on a number of practical issues. These include developing standard operating procedures, programme standards, quality assurance procedures and training requirements. Officials will be kept informed on how this work develops.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Training

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff training budget was for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men were registered as sperm donors in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The number of sperm donors currently recorded by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for each of the last five financial years is set out in the following table. Numbers may change as new information is obtained.
	
		
			   Total number 
			 2001-02 326 
			 2002-03 305 
			 2003-04 246 
			 2004-05 250 
			 2005-06 270 
		
	
	When donor anonymity was removed from 1 April 2005 there were concerns about the impact on donor numbers. Therefore we welcome the increased numbers in 2005-06 and will continue to encourage good practice in terms of donor recruitment.

Injuries: Children

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many recorded injuries excluding fatalities there were of children aged  (a) 0 to four,  (b) five to eight,  (c) nine to 12 and  (d) 13 to 16 years in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many recorded injuries excluding fatalities there were of children aged  (a) 0 to four,  (b) five to eight,  (c) nine to 12 and  (d) 13 to 16 years where the injury was recorded as taking place (i) in the home, (ii) at school, (iii) in hospital, (iv) on a sports ground or other place where sporting activities occur, (v) in public parks and (vi) in other places in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: Data are not collected centrally precisely in the form requested. Data that most closely relate to the requested figures are from the Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System, available for 1997 to 2002. These data cover injuries from non-fatal home and leisure accidents leading to an accident and emergency (A&E) visit (intentional injuries, road traffic and work accidents, and injuries treated by general practitioners or at home are not included). The figures are estimates for the United Kingdom, based on a sample of hospitals. The table shows data for published childhood age groups, and for locations relevant to the requested breakdown. More detail is available in the home and leisure accident surveillance system annual reports
	www.hassandlass.org.uk/query/reports.htm
	or from Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which hold the detailed data
	www.hassandlass.org.uk/query/index.htm.
	
		
			  UK estimates of number of A & E attendances for non-fatal home and leisure accident injuries—all accidents and by location 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			  Ages 0 to 4   
			 All accidents 768,420 743,180 740,730 686,770 632,700 617,320 
			 Home 595,440 580,470 579,300 533,210 489,680 477,490 
			 Hospital/health clinic/nursing home 1,600 1,990 1,960 1,580 1,910 1,600 
			 Other medical establishment 200 160 110 210 230 160 
			 Inside crèche/nursery/kindergarten 6,860 7,380 8,410 8,180 8,680 7,010 
			 Inside school/university/college (excluding sport area) 3,760 4,880 4,220 4,360 4,120 5,000 
			 School/nursery/kindergarten playground 11,040 10,920 11,720 12,120 13,140 13,120 
			 Other education area (excluding sport area) and unspecified education area 3,860 3,980 3,400 3,410 3,780 3,770 
			 Sport education area 1,180 1,230 1,190 1,010 790 1,090 
			 Sport area (excluding education area) 5,050 5,290 5,380 5,320 4,890 5,000 
			 Public playground 5,620 5,980 7,390 6,120 6,280 6,790 
			 Parkland/cemetery/gardens 8,400 6,800 7,500 7,360 6,280 7,050 
			 Other location 125,410 114,090 110,140 103,890 92,910 89,240 
			
			  Ages 5 to 14   
			 All accidents 1,593,280 1,504,420 1,541,230 1,430,150 1,382,990 1,360,690 
			 Home 462,610 445,830 464,440 433,280 410,800 405,020 
			 Hospital/health clinic/nursing home 870 1,070 950 940 860 1,110 
			 Other medical establishment 60 100 90 90 120 120 
			 Inside crèche/nursery/kindergarten 550 470 570 660 550 620 
			 Inside school/university/college (excluding sport area) 73,910 76,110 82,620 78,690 75,900 71,030 
			 School/nursery/kindergarten playground 119,320 128,040 138,530 124,340 130,270 126,140 
			 Other education area (excluding sport area) and unspecified education area 73,680 64,620 62,350 57,780 63,530 62,340 
			 Sport education area 119,900 118,430 116,870 107,430 105,490 108,300 
			 Sport area (excluding education area) 103,000 106,810 99,130 90,140 89,540 99,810 
			 Public playground 22,060 22,320 27,310 24,230 24,630 26,770 
			 Parkland/cemetery/gardens 41,330 37,420 40,880 36,050 34,750 35,830 
			 Other location 575,990 503,190 507,490 476,510 446,540 423,590 
			  Note: Figures are estimates based on a sample of 18 hospitals across the UK, and have been rounded to the nearest 10 (so figures may not sum to total).   Source: Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System annual reports for 1997 to 2002 (published location categories have been aggregated and sample figures converted to national estimates).

Irlen Syndrome

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what provisions there are for services for children and adults diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome to be provided on the NHS;
	(2)  what funding her Department provides for the provision of glasses for people who require glasses as a result of Irlen Syndrome.

Rosie Winterton: The national health service provides optical vouchers for children and other eligible groups who, following a sight test, have been given a prescription to correct a defect in sight. Optical vouchers can be used to purchase glasses or contact lenses. Parents of children with reading difficulties are encouraged to have an NHS-funded sight test to check that there are no refractive problems or eye disease which may be contributing to the difficulties.
	If, after a sight test (and glasses if necessary), difficulties are still being experienced then a wider assessment is called for. The best interests of children are likely to be served by a scheme of assessment and treatment, which takes into account the full range of possible ways of helping children with the symptoms associated with descriptions of Irlen syndrome. This is something that local education and health authorities should take forward in view of their responsibilities for services in their areas.

Kidney Patients: Health Services

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what provision is made for kidney patients requiring regular haemodialysis while away from home on holiday; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what her Department's policy is on providing access to haemodialysis facilities to kidney patients wishing to holiday away from home;
	(3)  if she will increase the number of facilities providing access to haemodialysis for kidney patients who wish to holiday away from home; and if she will make a statement.
	(4)  what information is provided to kidney patients who wish to take holidays about access to alternative NHS haemodialysis units.

Rosie Winterton: The National Service Framework for Renal Services makes clear that the ability to dialyse away from home, for holidays or other reasons, is important to kidney patients. The Department has published guidance on temporary dialysis away from home which has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicy/AndGuidance/DH.4084218.
	The exact manner in which this guidance is implemented is a matter for the national health service.

Learning Disability: Death

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to establish a confidential inquiry into mortality of people with learning difficulties.

Ivan Lewis: At this stage, the Department has no plans to establish a confidential inquiry into mortality of people with learning disabilities.
	The Department has established an independent inquiry into the deaths of six people named in Mencap's report, "Death by Indifference". In addition to the six cases, the independent inquiry will be identifying the action required to ensure that people with learning disabilities receive appropriate healthcare. The findings and recommendations of that inquiry will be used to inform a decision on whether to take forward a full confidential inquiry into mortality.

Medicine: Overseas Students

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to enable international medical graduates working in the United Kingdom as part of the Highly Skilled Migrants programme to complete their training in the event of their visas expiring before the end of their training period.

Rosie Winterton: Doctors in training working in the national health service who are part of the highly skilled migrant programme will be able to extend their leave under that programme provided they meet the eligibility criteria set by the Home Office at the time their visa expires.

Mentally Ill: Cannabis

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to my friend the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley), of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 583W, on mentally ill: cannabis, how many hospital admissions on mental health grounds resulting from the use of cannabis there were in each  (a) strategic health authority and  (b) primary care trust area in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Data showing the number of hospital admissions on mental health grounds resulting from the use of cannabis in each strategic health authority and primary care trust in each year since 1997 have been placed in the Library. The data show admissions by all consultant specialities, including admissions by consultants registered under mental illness specialities only.

Midwives

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives she expects to qualify in 2007; and how many places she expects there to be in the NHS for newly qualified midwives.

Rosie Winterton: In 2004-05, the national health service commissioned 895 midwifery degree places. Those who successfully complete the training will qualify in 2007.
	Additional midwives will qualify through a variety of programmes, including an 18 month pre-registration education programme, adaptation and return to practice programmes. These programmes are funded and arranged locally, depending on local needs and therefore the start and end dates vary.
	It is a joint responsibility between higher education institutions and local NHS organisations to see that midwifery and other health care graduates are supported to find employment. Vacancies for graduates continue to be posted on "NHS Jobs" and the NHS Careers information service can direct graduates to appropriate sources of information and advice. Graduates are encouraged to be flexible when applying for posts.
	In developing "Maternity Matters", which outlines the Government's vision for maternity services, the NHS workforce review team identified that the midwifery workforce would increase by 1,000 leading up to 2009.

Muscular Dystrophy

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will allocate funding for the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Registry in the UK.

Ivan Lewis: Implementation of the Department's research strategy "Best Research for Best Health" will result in an expansion of our research programmes and in significant new funding opportunities for health research. Details, including the scope of the programmes and the arrangements for making applications for support from them, are available on the National Institute for Health Research website at www.nihr.ac.uk. Funding awards are in all cases made after open, competitive, peer review.

NHS Appointments Commission

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria were used in the appointment of members to the NHS Appointments Commission.

Rosie Winterton: Person specifications for all posts were agreed with Ministers and made publicly available to all potential candidates. Copies have been placed in the Library.

NHS Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the increase in her Department's future public sector pension liability which will arise from salary increases under the  (a) Agenda for Change programme and  (b) the new GP contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) has valued the total future liabilities of the NHS Pension scheme as at 31 March 2006 to be £165.4 billion. GAD are in the process of preparing a detailed actuarial valuation of the scheme as at 31 March 2004 which will be published later this year which will include analysis of the factors leading to any change in valuation.

NHS: Allowances

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 153W, on NHS: allowances, in what  (a) month and  (b) year the level of the personal expenses allowance was set; and on what basis the level set was felt to be appropriate.

Ivan Lewis: The requirement for an allowance for expenditure on personal items for those living in residential care settings originates from the National Assistance Act (NAA) 1948 - Part III (Local Authority Services), section 22(4). The National Assistance (Charges for Accommodation) Regulations 1948 set the sum for personal requirements at five shillings per week. These regulations came into force on 5 July 1948.
	Due to the passage of time, it has not proved possible to establish the reasons that the level set was felt to be appropriate. Contemporary papers and reports are not available.
	The 2007-08 rate of personal expenses allowances is £20.45 per week. This took effect on 9 April 2007.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS workers have been assaulted in each region of England in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: A table outlining the estimated number of reported violent incidents collected by the Department for 2001-02, 2002-03 for each strategic health authority, national health service trust and primary care trust in England has been placed in the Library.
	In April 2003, the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. The NHS SMS has collected data on the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in England for the period 2004-05 and 2005-06. A breakdown of figures by reporting period for each NHS trust has been placed in the Library.
	The NHS SMS has introduced a comprehensive strategy and integrated structure for addressing the issue of violence against NHS staff.

NHS: Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the Government provided to meet the start-up and running costs of the  (a) Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence,  (b) Nursing and Midwifery Council and  (c) Health Professions Council in each year since its creation; and what proportion of the total budget this represented in each case.

Rosie Winterton: According to our records, the amount of funding that was provided to the Health Professions Council (HPC) for its establishment was £3,804,467.38 between 2002 and 2004. No funding has been paid to the HPC by the Department since April 2004, as the HPC is an autonomous organisation funded by registration fees and does not receive funding from the Department. Details of the HPC's budget are not held centrally, but are available from the HPC itself.
	According to our records, the amount of funding that was provided to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for its establishment was £3,656,382.81 between April 2002 and April 2004. No funding has been paid to the NMC by the Department since April 2004, as the NMC is an autonomous organisation funded by registration fees and does not receive funding from the Department. Details of the NMC's budget are not held centrally, but are available from the NMC itself.
	According to our records, the amount of funding that was provided to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) starting in 2003 for its start-up costs and running costs so far is £8,790,315.47. This represents 100 per cent. of CHRE budget.
	Figures prior to April 2002 are currently unavailable without extensive research.

NHS: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of supply and demand for  (a) consultants,  (b) GPs,  (c) nurses and midwives and  (d) allied health professionals in 2007-08 in the same format as that included in her Department's third draft of its pay and workforce strategy, dated 27th November 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The following table shows the Department's February 2007 estimates of the numbers of staff in particular groups in 2007-08. These figures were the latest version using the same approach as in the draft pay and workforce strategy, using the September 2005 census as the baseline.
	
		
			  Staff group   2007-08 
			 Consultants Available supply 31,600 
			  Demand 31,000 
			 General practitioners Available supply 30,800 
			  Demand 31,000 
			 Qualified nurses Available supply 314,500 
			  Demand 304,800 
			 AHP/ST&Ts Available supply 155,300 
			  Demand 144,100 
		
	
	The actual size of NHS workforce in 2007-08 will be determined by NHS organisations who will make decisions taking account of their local circumstances.

NHS: Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the employee contribution rate is to the NHS pension scheme; what plans there are to change this rate; what the revenue yield would be from varying the rate by 1 per cent; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The contribution rate for scheme members is 6 per cent. of pensionable pay, however members classed as manual workers pay 5 per cent. NHS employers and the national health service trade unions have proposed a new tiered contribution structure with the rate of employee contributions tiered by pensionable pay.
	The NHS pension scheme pensionable payroll as at 31 March 2006, taken from the resource accounts, was approximately £31 billion. Increasing the member contribution rate across the board by 1 per cent. of pensionable pay would yield just over £0.3 billion a year.

NHS: Training

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts were available in each region of England in each of the last five years; and how many she expects to be available in 2007.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

North East Strategic Health Authority: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the surpluses generated in the north east strategic health authority (SHA) in 2006-07 will be retained in full in the SHA for use in future years.

Rosie Winterton: The surplus generated by the national health service at the end of 2006-07 will be carried forward for spending in future years.
	Individual organisations must work to manage the potential financial risks and the strategic health authorities (SHAs) have a key support role to play. The financial recovery in 2006-07 has put the NHS on a much firmer financial footing for 2007-08. Planning to generate surpluses, and holding reserves at SHA level, are a central part of the strategy to ensure that financial good health can be sustained in future years.

Nurses: Pay

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses will receive pay increases of 4.9 per cent. or more in 2007-08.

Rosie Winterton: Figures for individual nurses are not held centrally.

Nurses: Pay

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary of nurses in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood was in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Research Training Posts

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many academic research training posts are funded by the Government for  (a) coronary heart disease,  (b) cancer and  (c) stroke and stroke-related problems.

Rosie Winterton: The following academic research training posts are funded by the Department's research capacity development programme.
	
		
			   Number 
			  Academic Clinical Fellows( 1)  
			 Cancer 75 
			 Coronary Heart Disease (2)41 
			 Stroke (2)61 
			   
			  Clinical Lecturers( 3)  
			 Cancer 31 
			 Coronary Heart Disease 20 
			 Stroke 27 
			   
			  Personal Awards( 4)  
			 Cancer 16 
			 Coronary Heart Disease 8 
			 Stroke 5 
			 (1) Academic research training posts for junior doctors in training. (2) Some posts may be shared with other specialties. (3) Academic research training posts for junior doctors who have completed a PhD. (4) Academic research training posts for PhDs and post-doctoral awards. 
		
	
	The following academic research training posts are funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in partnership with the Department.
	
		
			   Number 
			  Clinical Senior Lectureships  
			 Cancer 5 
			 Coronary Heart Disease 4 
			 Stroke 4 
			   
			  Total number of posts  
			 Cancer 127 
			 Coronary Heart Disease 73 
			 Stroke 97 
		
	
	Other posts are funded through local use of Government funds. Details of these posts are not available.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the United Kingdom Government support medical and clinical research.
	The MRC currently supports around 300 fellows and 100 capacity building and industrial collaborative students through its research career award schemes. The number of those currently supported in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Fellowship type  Cancer  Cardiovascular  Cerebrovascular 
			 Capacity Building Student 1 4 1 
			 Industrial Collaborative Student 1 — — 
			 Clinical Training Fellowship 21 5 4 
			 Special Training Fellowship in HSR 4 6 1 
			 Stem Cell Career Development Fellowship 1 0 1 
			 Career Development Award 3 1 2 
			 Clinician Scientist Fellowship 5 4 3 
			 Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship 1 1 1 
			 Senior Clinical Fellowship 3 1 0 
			 Total 40 22 13 
		
	
	The MRC also supports around 1,000 further students through doctoral training accounts to universities. The information that would be needed to classify those awards by reference to disease areas is not held centrally.

Ruth Hartley

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a unique identification number was accurately maintained for Dr. Ruth Hartley throughout each stage of the ST2007 recruitment process.

Rosie Winterton: The Medical Training Application Service allocates and maintains unique identification numbers for applicants and applications (final suffix letter). These are system generated and are not changed. Our supplier has confirmed that there is no evidence of any corruption to this data.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors,  (b) consultants and  (c) nurses were employed by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The number of medical and dental staff showing consultants, qualified nursing, midwifery and heath visiting staff(1) within Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust as at 30 September each year for the period 2002 to 2006 is shown in the table.
	(1) Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS).
	
		
			  Number (Headcount) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 All doctors 591 685 697 679 711 
			  Of which:  
			 Are consultants 199 211 215 224 240 
			 All nurses 2,072 2,134 2,172 (1)2,607 2,198 
			 (1) Census data collected by the Information Centre and in earlier years, the Department of Health, are provided, validated and signed off by each organisation that provides data from their payroll systems. When compiling a response for this parliamentary question, the data for nurses for 2005 were queried with the trust by the Department. Although it is possible that there was some error in submitting the data, it is not possible for the trust to replicate the data and provide an estimate for 2005 due to staff changes since. This should be taken into consideration when comparing data over time.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental work force census. The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical work force census.

Smoking: Prisons

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what mechanisms exist to ensure that funding allocated by primary care trusts for nicotine replacement therapy within prison establishments is adequate; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact on demand for nicotine replacement therapy within prison establishments of the requirements of Prison Service Instruction 09/2007; what resources she has made available to meet this demand; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the demand for nicotine replacement therapy in areas designated as dormitories within the prison estate; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the availability of nicotine replacement therapy at  (a) each prison establishment and  (b) for those held in custody while attending courts; what resources are provided to support the demand for this treatment; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Since April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) have been responsible for ensuring that healthcare services in prison(s) in their locality are of an equivalent quality and range to that which the general public receives from the national health service. Provision is determined by local health needs assessment, which, in partnership with the prison, should take into account the type of accommodation in which prisoners are held.
	Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is available via prison health services, in the same way that it is in the community, through a general practitioner. This would include those prisoners attending for court appearance from prison.
	For each of the financial years 2003-06, the Department provided an additional £500,000 funding to bring smoking cessation services in prisons in England, including NRT, in line with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. Resources are now contained within baseline primary care trust funding.

Strokes

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will increase the availability of  (a) acute stroke services available within three hours and  (b) other specialist treatment for people suffering from strokes; and if she will make a statement.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that every primary care trust area has a service for diagnosis and treatment of a stroke within three hours of symptom onset; and when she expects this to be in place.

Rosie Winterton: The rapid diagnosis of stroke and the introduction of thrombolysis (the use of clot-busting drugs) are key challenges for the national health service in its treatment of stroke. This is why the Department is developing a new national stroke strategy for England, which aims to support the NHS to modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke.

Strokes

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable is in place to provide an acute stroke service in every primary care trust area; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All primary care trusts caring for people who have had a stroke now have a specialist stroke service and 97 per cent. (196 of 203 hospitals) of hospitals in England who treat stroke patients now have a stroke unit (in 2004 only 82 per cent. had a stroke unit).
	 Source:
	National Sentinel Audit for Stroke 2006 conducted by the Royal College of Physicians.

Strokes

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the trend in the number of strokes amongst people in England.

Rosie Winterton: These data are not collected centrally.

Strokes

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the national stroke strategy to be published.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are currently developing a new national stroke strategy for England which aims to modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke, and the aim is to publish it this winter, following a full public consultation.

Strokes

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce the number of deaths caused by strokes.

Rosie Winterton: Stroke mortality is falling. For people under 65, the three year average death rate from stroke has fallen by 23 per cent. over the period from 1993-95 to 2002-04. For people aged 65-75 the death rate has dropped by 30 per cent. over the same period. However, the Government recognise that more needs to be done. This is why we are developing a new national stroke strategy for England which will modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke. The strategy will be published for consultation shortly with the intention of the final version being available by the end of the year.

Strokes

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to prevent avoidable deaths from stroke in England; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Stroke mortality is falling. For people under 65, the three-year average death rate from stroke has fallen by 23 per cent. over the period from 1993-95 to 2002-04. For people aged 65 to 75, the death rate has dropped by 30 per cent. over the same period.
	The risk factors which increase an individual's chances of suffering a stroke include smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Strokes are also more likely in those who suffer from hypertension and diabetes. Through the public health White Paper "Choosing Health", the Department has set out a programme of action to help improve the health of the public including action on smoking and diet. This builds on existing work such as campaigns on smoking and diet, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management of hypertension, points for prevention activities in the general practitioner contract and support for the Blood Pressure Association blood pressure awareness campaigns.
	The coronary heart disease and diabetes national service frameworks have also driven forward improvements in primary and secondary prevention of risk factors associated with circulatory disease in general. This includes better control of blood pressure and blood glucose, cholesterol management and the use of aspirin.
	The Department is also developing a new national stroke strategy for England which aims to modernise services, not just for those who have had a stroke, but also those at risk of doing so.

Strokes

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide funding for research into the prevention and treatment of stroke in people of  (a) African Caribbean and  (b) South Asian origin.

Rosie Winterton: Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including a number relevant to my hon. Friend's question are available on the national research register at
	www.dh.gov.uk/research.
	The Department's National Institute for Health Research is investing £20 million over five years in the UK Stroke Research Network set up in 2005. The Network is supporting clinical trials and other well designed studies conducted by public and private sector funders, and has adopted the following three studies which involve research into the prevention and treatment of stroke within black and minority ethnic communities:
	DNA resource for lacunar stroke
	South London ethnicity and stroke study
	The South London secondary prevention programme
	The Department is also funding the South London Stroke register which assesses the risk of stroke and the natural history of stroke with a focus on ethnicity.

Strokes

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts in London provide acute stroke services.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold this information centrally. However, the following hospitals took part in the 2006 sentinel audit of stroke services conducted by the Healthcare Commission.
	 NHS Trusts
	Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (Oldchurch and Harold Wood hospitals in collaboration with Havering primary care trust)
	Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (Barnet hospital), Barnet PCT and Finchley Memorial hospital
	Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (Chase Farm hospital)
	Barts and the London NHS Trust jointly with Tower Hamlets PCT
	Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust
	Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
	Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (Epsom Hospital)
	Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (St. Helier Hospital)
	Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
	Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust
	Kingston Hospital NHS Trust
	Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust
	Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust
	Newham University Hospital NHS Trust
	North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust—Jointly with Haringey PCT
	North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (Central Middlesex Hospital including Willesden Community hospital (Brent PCT))
	North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (Northwick Park Hospital)
	Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust
	Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust
	Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
	St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust
	St. Mary's NHS Trust
	West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
	Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust
	Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
	NHS trusts in 2006, now foundation trusts:
	King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
	Foundation trusts in 2006
	Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
	Guy's and St. Thomas Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
	Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
	University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Strokes

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken to ensure a comprehensive acute  (a) stroke service and  (b) recovery service in Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust area.

Rosie Winterton: This is a local issue. NHS London is working to improve stroke care in London, and this is one of the issues being dealt with by the long-term strategy for London being led by Professor Sir Ara Darzi. The Royal College's National Stroke Guidelines are for a scan to be provided within 24 hours (and within three hours where a thrombolysis service is provided).

Strokes

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) brain scanners and  (b) specialist radiologists are available in Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust for the diagnosis of acute stroke within three hours of the onset of symptoms.

Rosie Winterton: NHS London has advised that the majority of Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT) patients are treated at St. George's Hospital and St. Helier Hospital, which also provide services for other PCTs. St. Helier has one CT scanner, one MRI scanner and 10 radiologists. St. George's has three CT scanners, and most of the reporting is carried out by five neuro-radiologists.

Strokes

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Wimbledon residents are in receipt of treatment for strokes.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not collected in the format requested. The following table shows the number of all diagnoses count of finished consultant episodes with Sutton and Merton PCT as primary care trusts of residence for strokes (which covers the Wimbledon area).
	
		
			  PCT description  Finished consultant episodes (FCE) 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 1,241 
			  Notes:  All Diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record.  FCE An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Surgery: Assessments

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgeons in the London Deanery are involved in shortlisting of general surgery candidates for specialist training grades 1-3 within the medical training application service; how many applications are to be considered; how many pages have been photocopied in the process undertaken so far; how many hours of work are estimated to be needed to score each 100 complete forms; and how the required trained assessors will be trained and assessed themselves.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. The local selection process is a matter for the local deaneries and units of application.

Transsexuality: Medical Treatments

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what voice therapy is available on the NHS to those wishing to change their gender.

Ivan Lewis: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to commission services in order to meet local needs. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of voice therapy on the basis of assessed clinical need.

United Health Group

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the contract between her Department and Channing Wheeler.

Ivan Lewis: A copy of Mr. Channing Wheeler's contract of employment will not be placed in the Library on grounds of confidentiality.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Opium

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost was of the poppy eradication programmes undertaken in Afghanistan by the UK in each year since 2001.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 2 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 657-658W, and I submit the following updated table that includes the 2006-07 figures.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Total Afghan counter narcotics spend  Eradication 
			 2002-03 23 1 21.2 
			 2003-04 31.3 1.3 
			 2004-05 33.2 2.2 
			 2005-06 (1)92.3 5.7 
			 2006-07 82.0 2.9 
			 (1 )The published figure for 2005-06 was given as £92.8 million in the written answer on 2 November 2006. This was adjusted downwards in 2007, when full information on actual, as opposed to projected, spend became available.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new diplomatic steps she plans to take on the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ian McCartney: We have repeatedly condemned the continuing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister issued a statement on 19 June marking her 62nd birthday and calling again on the Burmese Government to end her detention under house arrest,
	With the UN and other key partners, we will continue to press for an open and inclusive political process in Burma and an improvement in the human rights situation. The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is central to both objectives.
	We shall continue to raise our concerns about all human rights abuses, including the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, with the Burmese Government. On 28 May, I met the Burmese Foreign Minister at the Asia/Europe Foreign Ministers meeting in Hamburg, and called again for the Burmese Government to release Aung San Suu Kyi. The Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Chair Statement, endorsed by all ASEM members, also called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and urged the Burmese Government to remain constructively engaged with the Association of South East Asian Nations, the UN and the international community.

Bosnia: Depleted Uranium

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many civilians in  (a) Bosnia and  (b) Kosovo have been reported as showing signs of depleted uranium contamination during the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what efforts the Department is making to monitor the effects of depleted uranium on civilians in  (a) Bosnia and  (b) Kosovo.

Geoff Hoon: While the UK has not used depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans, we maintain a watching brief on related scientific developments.
	The Ministry of Defence carried out depleted uranium environmental monitoring surveys in Kosovo in 2001 and in Bosnia in 2002, Only limited and localised depleted uranium contamination was detected and the reports concluded that there is no foreseeable way in which this could present a radioactive or toxic risk for the environment or human health. These findings are in line with those of the UN environment programme's reports on the Balkans, and, under World Health Organisation recommendations, do not indicate a need for systematic monitoring of the civilian population.

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people in her Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on home working.

Geoff Hoon: As the information requested by the hon. Member is not held centrally, it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff are entitled to apply to work flexibly. The Permanent Under-Secretary is fully committed to promoting flexible working across the Department, both at home and overseas, and has recently appointed a member of the FCO Board as the FCO's first champion for flexible working. A growing number of staff at all levels, including senior managers, are working flexibly whether part-time, job sharing, working compressed hours or from home. New technology is being introduced to enable staff to work away from the office. Information on flexible working is available on the FCO intranet and a flexible working network has been established to offer support and guidance to staff working flexibly and those managing flexible workers. The FCO is a member of the working families organisation.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in her Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Geoff Hoon: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) figures requested by the hon. Member are:
	 Temporary part-time
	We do not hold figures on part-time temporary workers centrally. Collating this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	 Temporary full-time
	Total number of contracts granted = 219—Breakdown by year as follows:
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007( 1) 
			 Number issued to men 47 39 40 35 
			 Number issued to women 10 22 13 13 
			 Number issued to registered disabled 0 0 0 0 
			 (1 )To-date 
		
	
	 Permanent part-time
	Total number of contracts granted = 17—Breakdown by year as follows:
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007( 1) 
			 Number issued to men 0 0 0 3 
			 Number issued to women 2 1 2 8 
			 Number issued to registered disabled 0 0 0 1 
			 (1 )To-date 
		
	
	 Permanent full-time
	Total number of contracts granted = 705—Breakdown by year as follows:
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Number issued to men 75 88 113 98 
			 Number issued to women 47 48 104 99 
			 Number issued to registered disabled 8 6 4 15 
			 (1 )To-date 
		
	
	The FCO does not hold readily accessible data on contracts of employment granted to those aged 55 and over, separated into temporary part-time, temporary fall-time, permanent part-time and permanent full-time. Collating this information would incur disproportionate cost. However, the following figures are available for all contract-types combined issued to those aged 55 and over in each of the last three years:
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007( 1) 
			 Number issued those aged 55 and over 37 45 50 19 
			 (1 )To-date

Departments: Marketing

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which advertising and marketing campaigns were run by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; which external agencies were involved; and what the cost was of each campaign.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not keep a central record of amounts spent on advertising and marketing campaigns. The information required to answer this question could be obtained only by requiring individual budget holders in the FCO and its agencies (FCO Services and Wilton Park) to examine all invoices for the last five years. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Official Cars

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what make and model of car  (a) she and  (b) each Minister in her Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were used when making the decision in each case.

Margaret Beckett: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer given to him by the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) on 14 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 1268-69W.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the official ministerial residences allocated to Ministers in her Department; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the right. hon. Member to the reply my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to her on 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1263W.
	On costs, I refer the right. hon. Member to the reply my right. hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary gave to the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 14 February 2006,  Official Report, columns 1905-06W.

Departments: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department received bonus payments in 2007; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment has been; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The processes for determining annual pay and bonus awards for Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff in the senior management structure and in the delegated grades follow a timetable, which reaches a conclusion in late July. We will not therefore be in a position to supply the figures requested until August.
	I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this information is available and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departments: Trade Unions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings  (a) she and  (b) her Department's Ministers held with trade union representatives in 2006.

Margaret Beckett: Ministers meet a large number of trade union representatives in the course of their official duties. These include face to face meetings, meetings where they are part of a delegation or on the sidelines of speeches or other official engagements.
	Obtaining the information required for the time period specified by the right. hon. Member would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Travel Agents

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies' fees in each year since 1997.

Geoff Hoon: The fees paid to our Travel Management Company (American Express) since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			   
			 1997-98 611,081 
			 1998-99 630,824 
			 1999-2000 649,841 
			 2000-01 678,138 
			 2001-02 760,047 
			 2002-03 754,430 
			 2003-04 757,352 
			 2004-05 749,923 
			 2005-06 792,828 
			 2006-07 836,196

Diplomatic Service: Deportation

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many diplomats were asked to leave London following activities incompatible with their diplomatic status in each of the last 10 years; and from which country's embassy each was expelled.

Geoff Hoon: No diplomats have been asked to leave London for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status in the past 10 years.

Egypt: Human Rights

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the human rights situation in Egypt.

Kim Howells: We continue to have serious concerns about certain aspects of the human rights situation in Egypt. We regularly raise these and concerns about other issues, including religious freedom, with Egyptian officials both bilaterally and with EU partners. We hope that Egypt's election to the UN Human Rights Council will encourage progress.

Hamas

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) direct and  (b) indirect discussions her officials held with the Hamas leadership in the Palestinian Territory between March and 16 June 2007.

Kim Howells: We have not met with any members of Hamas, including when they were part of the National Unity government, to discuss political issues. To discuss the Alan Johnston case, our Consul-General in Jerusalem met Ismail Haniya, the Hamas Prime Minister and Hamas Government spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have also met with Ghazi Hamad in London, No other issues were discussed.
	As the UK has made clear, we are willing to work with those who are committed to the Quartet principles: renunciation of violence; recognition of Israel; and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap.

Human Trafficking: Conferences

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the invitees to the forthcoming conference at Wilton Park entitled Human Trafficking: how best to stem the flow; and what the cost of the conference is to each attendee.

Kim Howells: The information requested constitutes personal data and we do not have the consent of the individuals concerned to disclose such information. However, the conference programme, with the names of confirmed speakers, the cost of participation, as well as general information and reports of conferences is available on Wilton Park's website:
	(http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/documents/conferences/WP854/pdfs/WP854prog.pdf)

Iran: Terrorism

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the Iranian bank Bank Saderat being used by the Government of Iran to transfer money to terrorist groups in the Middle East; what assessment she has made of those reports; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Government are aware that the United States Government identified Bank Saderat in a press statement of 8 September 2006 as being involved in the transfer of funds to
	Hizballah and other terrorist organizations,
	and that the bank was being
	cut off from all access to the US financial systems, direct or indirect.
	We are keeping the situation under review.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made since July 2006 towards achieving the priorities and aims of rule of law development in the Iraqi provinces of  (a) Al Basrah,  (b) Al Muthanna,  (c) Dhi Qar and  (d) Maysan; what (i) human and (ii) financial resources the UK Government has committed to this development; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: In Dhi Qar, Muthanna and Maysan security responsibility has now all been transferred to the Iraqi authorities. Until late 2006, British police advisers were mentoring and advising police officers in Al Muthana, Dhi Qar and Maysan. Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) continue to offer support, but they are run by coalition allies rather than the UK. No UK financial resources are currently committed to support the rule of law in these provinces.
	In Basra, the Multinational Division (South East) Security Sector Reform team, the consulate's civilian police and prisons teams and the PRT work with the Iraqi police, prison service and judiciary to support the rule of law in Basra. Over 80 per cent. of Basra's police stations have been assessed as largely or fully capable of carrying out basic policing duties, a significant increase on the July 2006 figure. The prisons adviser is training local prison officers and advising on the recruitment of new prison officers to staff a new central prison in Basra. The PRT is building the investigative skills of judges and others involved in the judicial process. The PRT is also assisting with the design and construction of an additional courthouse for Basra.
	The results of the whole effort can be seen in the improvements in specialist police units, the action taken against some former police officers accused of abuse, and the building projects under way to improve the infrastructure.
	The UK provides three staff to work solely on the rule of law with the Basra PRT, 31 police officers and former police officers, and one HM Prison Service officer. The broader military efforts are not included in the estimated cost of 18 million for our rule of law activities in Basra for the current financial year.

Iraq: Politics and Government

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, column 982W, on Iraq: politics and Government, how many applications for assistance the Government received in each month since March 2004 from  (a) current and  (b) former Iraqi employees; how many of these applications were (i) approved and (ii) rejected; what percentage of those approved applications resulted in the granting of refugee status and admission to the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, column 982W, on Iraq: politics and Government, what assistance measures are offered to the former and current Iraqi employees whose applications for assistance have been approved; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, column 982W, on Iraq: politics and Government, how many applications for assistance the Government received in each month since March 2003 from current and former Iraqi employees at the British Government embassies, consulates, missions or offices in  (a) Iraq,  (b) Baghdad,  (c) Basra,  (d) Syria,  (e) Jordan and  (f) Egypt; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As I said in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 24 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1418W the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold a central record of applications for assistance. In order to answer these questions accurately officials at the relevant posts would be required to examine all their records since 2003, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	As I said in my response to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 7 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 645-46W, in line with our policy worldwide we do not comment on the substance of individual immigration or consular cases and all applications are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Iraq: Turkey

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of Turkish troops entering Kurdish areas of Iraq; what discussions she has had with her  (a) Turkish,  (b) Iraqi and  (c) US counterparts on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We are aware of counter-terrorist operations by the Turkish security forces close to Turkey's border with northern Iraq. This is usual at this time of year when the Partiya Karkern Kurdistan (PKK) steps up its terrorist activities. A series of PKK attacks have struck military and civilian targets in Turkey recently, causing a significant number of fatalities. We utterly condemn the attacks carried out by the PKK, as we do all acts of terrorism.
	The Turkish and Iraqi Governments have denied recent media reports of Turkish troops entering northern Iraq. We have no evidence to the contrary.
	We encourage Turkey to work with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish regional government to address the PKK presence in northern Iraq. We welcome the ongoing trilateral co-operation between Turkey, Iraq and the US; with each of whom we discuss this issue.

Iraq: Turkey

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of Turkish troops having undertaken cross-border military operations in Northern Iraq; what representations she has made to her Turkish counterpart on those reports; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Turkish and Iraqi governments have confirmed that no incursions into northern Iraq by Turkish security forces have taken place. We continue to follow the situation closely through our Missions in Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil and remain in close touch with the Turkish and Iraqi governments.
	We are aware of counter-terrorist operations by the Turkish security forces close to Turkey's border with northern Iraq. This is usual at this time of year when the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) steps up its terrorist activities. A series of PKK attacks have struck military and civilian targets in Turkey recently, causing a significant number of fatalities. We utterly condemn the attacks carried out by the PKK, as we do all acts of terrorism.
	We encourage Turkey to work with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional government to address the PKK presence in northern Iraq and we welcome the ongoing trilateral co-operation between Turkey, Iraq and the US.

Iraq: USA

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the proposals by the United States to establish a long term military presence in Iraq; what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We maintain a constant dialogue with the US Administration on the security situation in Iraq, and our shared plans and strategies to respond to it. At present, this dialogue is focused on working to reduce the level of violence in Iraq and creating the conditions necessary for the transfer of responsibility for security to the Iraqi authorities in Basra province.

Khmer Rouge

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge to be  (a) charged and  (b) put on trial.

Kim Howells: A Plenary Session in Phnom Penh of national and international judicial officers unanimously adopted The Internal Rules of Procedure for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on 12 June. This significant step paves the way for the process of holding fair and transparent trials.
	Judicial officers, in a joint statement on 13 June, stated that it was their understanding that co-prosecutors would shortly file their first introductory submission. Co- investigating judges can then begin the judicial process. Whilst there is no current timetable for the trial phase, we currently envisage the trial process starting in the first half of 2008. Both the Cambodian Government and the UN are aware of the urgency of starting these trials and are working hard to do this as soon as possible.
	The UK will continue to follow developments closely in the coming months.

Kosovo: Peace Keeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress of plans to replace NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo with a European Union mission; what she expects the UK's  (a) financial and  (b) military contribution to that mission to be; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: There are presently no plans to replace NATO's Kosovo Force with an EU mission. Following implementation of UN special envoy Ahtisaari's comprehensive proposals for Kosovo's future status, it is envisaged that NATO will provide the international military presence in Kosovo. Separately, there will be a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission in the area of policing and rule of law.
	An EU planning team is in place in Kosovo and is carrying out the necessary planning and preparations for the ESDP mission. But the UK expects to maintain its personnel contribution at or around that currently provided to the UN Mission in Kosovo (circa 80 personnel) and will contribute around 17 per cent. of the common costs of the ESDP mission from the Common Foreign and Security Policy budget.

Kosovo: United Nations Security Council

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of progress towards securing a new United Nations Security Council resolution on Kosovo; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Intensive negotiations are continuing in the UN Security Council in New York. We are working to achieve a resolution paving the way for implementation of the Ahtisaari proposals as soon as possible.
	On 18 June, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Kosovo at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council. The Council confirmed its support for UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari and reiterated its view that his comprehensive proposals provide the basis for the settlement of the Kosovo issue by a new resolution of the UN Security Council.

Members: Correspondence

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Cabinet Office on the target of 20 working days for replying to correspondence from hon. Members.

Margaret Beckett: Having checked with my officials I can confirm there is no record of discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Cabinet Office regarding the target of 20 working days for replying to correspondence from hon. Members.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on recent progress of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

Kim Howells: The Arab League's re-endorsement of the 2002 Beirut Declaration at the Arab Summit in Riyadh is a welcome step. It offers the prospect of normal relations between Israel and the Arab world. The Arab League has a key role to play in promoting reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians and moving forward the peace process.
	In its statement on 30 May, the Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) noted its positive meeting with the Arab League in Sharm al-Sheikh on May 4, and looked forward to continued engagement with the Arab states. It welcomed the intention of the Arab League to engage Israel on the 2002 Arab League initiative and Israeli receptiveness to such engagement. The Quartet encouraged continued and expanded Arab contacts with Israel, and Israeli action to address concerns raised in the April 18 Arab League Follow-up Committee meeting, including a cessation of settlement expansion and the removal of illegal outposts, as called for in the Roadmap.
	Israeli Foreign Minister Livni met President Mubarak and the Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers in Cairo on 10 May to discuss subsequent action. The Quartet principals agreed to meet in the region with members of the Arab League to follow up on the Arab Peace Initiative and efforts to advance the regional track.
	We support the Arab League's engagement with the parties and welcome the meetings since the re-endorsement of the Arab League Initiative. We hope that this will create confidence between the parties to re-start negotiations.

Morocco: Politics and Government

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the Moroccan initiative for autonomy for Western Sahara; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined, pending UN efforts to find a solution. To this end, the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy to the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self determination of the people of Western Sahara.
	On 30 April the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1754, which took note of Morocco's proposal presented to the UN Secretary-General on 11 April, and called for both sides to enter into negotiations without preconditions.
	The UK welcomes the prospect of negotiations between Morocco, the Polisario and their neighbours to be hosted by the UN on 18-19 June. The UK continues to support the process.

North Korea: Nuclear Reactors

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects International Atomic Energy Agency monitors  (a) to arrive in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and  (b) to begin inspection of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor; and what recent discussions she has held with (i) the United States, (ii) South Korea, (iii) China, (iv) Russia and (v) Japan on methods of applying pressure to the DPRK regime to ensure the Yongbyon nuclear reactor is closed.

Kim Howells: Following an invitation on 16 June from the Director-General of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) General Department of Atomic Energy, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr ElBaradei, replied on 18 June, noting that an IAEA team, headed by Deputy Director-General for Safeguards, Mr Olli Heinonen, would visit Pyongyang in the week commencing 25 June.
	I understand that the letter of invitation from the DPRK has asked for the IAEA delegation to visit Pyongyang to discuss the modalities for verification and monitoring by the IAEA of the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility.
	Ensuring the closure of the Yongbyon reactor is an issue for discussion amongst members of the six party talks. Although the UK is not a member of the talks, we fully support the process and regularly keep in touch with partners, including through our embassies. We will continue to urge the DPRK to fulfil the commitments it has entered into under the February agreement, including the closure of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, as well as comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and resume its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty.

Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to widen international participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The UK has been actively involved in outreach activities for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which now includes over 80 countries. We continue to use suitable bilateral or multilateral lobbying opportunities to encourage other countries to endorse the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles. For example, last year a UK Government team made a useful PSI outreach visit to Vietnam and in March, UK officials were involved in an Asia-Pacific PSI Outreach Forum organised in New Zealand.

Palestinians: Children

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to write to the hon. Member for Thurrock about the visit to the UK by children from Palestine hosted by the charity Bethlehem Link; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, replied on 15 June.

Palestinians: Immigration

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the operations of the  (a) EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories and  (b) EU Border Assistance Mission at Rafah crossing point in light of recent events in Gaza; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: At the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg on 18 June, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to support the Palestinian Civilian Police through the resumption of the EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories and to resume the EU Border Assistance Mission Rafah. We support this.
	We have received reports on the safety of officials at the Rafah crossing point, They have now been safely evacuated to Jerusalem.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the UK made towards the review of the Temporary International Mechanism; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We have worked closely with the European Commission and the World Bank to draft terms of reference for the evaluation, and to ensure that the review examines the linkages between both the European Commission and the World Bank with respect to the Temporary International Mechanism. Department for International Development officials in Jerusalem and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Brussels have had a substantial engagement with the review teams and continue to work with them to ensure the final report is of a high quality. The final report is due to be presented at the end of the month.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial,  (b) diplomatic,  (c) military and  (d) humanitarian support the Government gave the elected Palestinian Hamas-led government in the last six months; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We did not provide any financial, diplomatic, military and humanitarian support to the Hamas-led government.
	We have continued to provide support to the Palestinian people. The EU set up the 'Temporary International Mechanism' (TIM) in 2006, which provided support directly to the Palestinian people, bypassing the Hamas led government. This has been extended for a further three months until September. The EU gave 680 million to the Palestinians in 2006, more than in any previous year. 200 million of this was transferred through the UK-inspired TIM. The UK has also provided 15 million through the TIM. This has supported Palestinian front line health services, allowances for government workers and the operation, maintenance and repair of water, sanitation and electricity services in Gaza and the West Bank

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial,  (b) diplomatic,  (c) military and  (d) humanitarian support the Government is providing to the Palestinian Fatah movement; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We have provided no financial, diplomatic, military or humanitarian support to Fatah. We have provided some limited media training for Palestinian political parties including Fatah.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the dissolution of the Palestinian unity government and the formation of a new government on plans for Palestinian security sector transformation; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We regret the announcement that the National Unity Government (NUG) has been dissolved, but understand that Hamas' recent actions left Palestinian President Abbas with few alternatives. We, along with the EU and Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia), support President Abbas' decision to dissolve the NUG and declare a state of emergency.
	We look forward to working with Prime Minister Fayyad and his ministerial team for the benefit of all Palestinians. Prime Minister Fayyad has said his priorities are restoring security and improving the economic and humanitarian situationwe share those goals and will continue to work with the Palestinian Authority towards them.
	We remain committed to security sector reform and will continue to work with President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad to strengthen the Palestinian security forces. We are currently considering how best to do this, given recent events.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the UK Government have made of the  (a) size and  (b) military capability of the (i) Hamas Executive Force and (ii) Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: In April 2006 the then Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Interior Minister, Siad Siyam, established an Executive Force. By January 2007, the force was believed to have as many as 5,000 members, Hamas had announced its intention to increase this figure to some 12,000 and establish a 1,500 strong force in the West Bank.
	Hamas's military wingknown as the Izzedine al Qassam Brigadeswas founded in 1992 and has been responsible for numerous attacks on Israel, including suicide bombings. The group is likely to be able to draw on thousands of men as required. Hamas militants in both forces appear well disciplined and capable of conducting mobile urban warfare, rocket and improvised explosive devices bomb attacks.

Sanctions: EC Action

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 244-5W, on sanctions: EC Action, which geographical working group reviews and evaluates EU sanctions against Iran; how often the group meets; and to whom the group reports.

Kim Howells: Any evaluation of the impact of sanctions on Iran would be carried out by the geographical working group covering the Middle East, Committee on the Middle East and Gulf (COMEM). COMEM can meet as required and the UK is represented by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office based in Brussels. COMEM also meets every three months when representatives from EU capitals attend, COMEM reports to the Political and Security Council and the Committee of Permanent Representatives, (known as Coreper). Any formal legal review of the sanctions will be undertaken by the Foreign Relations Counsellors Working Party.

Saudi Arabia: Torture

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any British citizens have been tortured in Saudi Arabia since 1 January 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture and works hard with international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice. Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not itself in a position conclusively to confirm or deny allegations of torture in Saudi Arabia, we do raise such allegations with the Saudi authorities. We have raised at least nine allegations of torture with the Saudi authorities since 1997.

Somalia: Peace Keeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the merits of establishing a UN force for Somalia; and what the UK policy is on the matter.

Ian McCartney: The Government strongly support the current African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) but also support the need for the UN Security Council to consider fully the merits of establishing a UN force in Somalia, to succeed AMISOM. We sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1744, adopted unanimously by the Security Council on 20 February, and fully supported the Council's Presidential Statement of 30 April. Both emphasised the need to consider establishing a UN force in Somalia to succeed AMISOM and requested the Secretary-General to undertake contingency work and prepare options for the Security Council to consider. We expect the Secretary-General to report back to the Council within the next month, after which we will assess the merits of a force, in consultation with our UN partners. We supported this approach as Co-Chairman of the International Contact Group for Somalia when it met in London on 6 June.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 400-1W, on Sudan: armed conflict, what measures to allow better air monitoring of the violence in Darfur have been proposed by the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We are considering a number of measures to improve air monitoring in Darfur, from enhanced monitoring on the ground to a no fly zone. We need to assess the logistical challenges of implementation and impact on the humanitarian effort of any measures. We are working with partners in the UN Security Council to press both the African Union and the Panel of Experts to notify the UN Sanctions Committee of any instances of offensive military flights in Darftir.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreements have been reached with the government of Sudan on when the United Nations/African Union heavy support package will be in place; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Government of Sudan gave their full agreement on 16 April to the deployment of the UN Heavy Support Package, The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations is now responsible for organising its deployment. We are pressing them to ensure that this happens as soon as possible.
	We will monitor its deployment to ensure the Government of Sudan do not block it. If the Government do not co-operate, we will be prepared to introduce tougher measures.

Weapons: Finance

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Financial Action Task Force is expected to complete its examination of the risks involved in weapons of mass destruction proliferation finance and to review its mandate, as called for by the G7 Finance Ministers in Essen in February 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	The Financial Action Task Force is due to complete a review of its mandate by the end of June 2008. Its examination of the risks involved in weapons of mass destruction proliferation finance is in progress. There is no formal deadline for completing this work.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Benefits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid in bereavement benefits due to (i) fraud and (ii) error in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. For details of the amount of overpayment in bereavement benefit and widow's benefits combined, due to official error, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 697-700W.
	There are no reliable estimates of the amount of underpayment in these benefits.

Carers' Allowances: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Leeds West  (a) receive and  (b) are entitled to carers' benefits.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of people in Leeds West parliamentary constituency in receipt of and entitled to carers' benefitsNovember 2006 
			   In receipt  Entitled 
			 Carer's allowance (CA) 660 1,080 
			 Income support with a carer premium 370 370 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Recipients of IS carer's premium may also be entitled to or receiving CA. 3. CA recipient totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended. 4. CA entitled totals show the number of people who are entitled to receive CA, including those who receive no actual payment.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS 
		
	
	The vast majority of those entitled to but not receiving CA are pensioners and are likely to be receiving state pension and may receive the carer's premium in pension credit. Only one benefit at a time can be paid for the same purpose. While the circumstances that give rise to entitlement to CA and the state pension are different, both benefits are designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or forgone income.

Child Support Agency: Manpower

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff were employed by the Child Support Agency in each quarter since January 1997; what the estimated numbers are for each quarter until 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on plans to reduce Child Support Agency (CSA) staff numbers; and whether such plans will be affected by CSA performance against targets.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff were employed by the Child Support Agency in each quarter since January 1997; what the estimated numbers are for each quarter until 2012;
	and
	If he will make a statement on plans to reduce Child Support Agency (CSA) staff numbers; and whether such plans will be affected by CSA Performance against targets.
	Such information as is available is in the attached table. However, we cannot currently provide anticipated people numbers beyond March 2008 as staffing profiles have yet to be agreed across the Department.
	I have provided the average people employed for each financial year from 1997/98 through to 2000/01, as we no longer retain information on a quarterly basis for this period. The information provided is sourced from the Agency Annual Report and Accounts and is set out in the attached Table 1.
	The Agency is committed to meeting both the Departmentally agreed headcount target of 9547 by March 2008 and the Secretary of State performance targets for the coming year.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Financial year  Average number of people employed 
			 1997-98 8,445 
			 1998-99 8,156 
			 1999-2000 8,545 
			 2000-01 9,187 
			  Note: Quarterly information is not available for this period.  Source: Agency Annual Reports and Accounts. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Quarter ending  Number of full-time equivalent people 
			  2001  
			 June 10,071.14 
			 September 10,140.98 
			 December 10,425.26 
			   
			 2002  
			 March 10,690.59 
			 June 10,920.45 
			 September 11,166.36 
			 December 11,202.70 
			   
			 2003  
			 March 11,256.42 
			 June 10,987.77 
			 September 10,696.30 
			 December 10,527.76 
			   
			 2004  
			 March 10,819.02 
			 June 10,671.76 
			 September 10,076.78 
			 December 9,809.96 
			   
			 2005  
			 March 9,784.26 
			 June 9,827.08 
			 September 10,076.55 
			 December 10,648.83 
			   
			 2006  
			 March 11,034.25 
			 June 11,279.85 
			 September 11,416.45 
			 December 11,497.57 
			   
			  2007  
			 March 11,225.04 
			 June *10,982 
			 September *10,615 
			 December *10,238 
			   
			  2008  
			 March *9,547 
			  Notes: 1. Actualsfor June 2001 to March 2007. 2. Projectedfrom September 2007 to March 2008.

Child Support Agency: Marketing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many whole-time equivalent staff are responsible for  (a) brand management and  (b) marketing at the Child Support Agency; and what the cost was of those staff in the last 12 months.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many whole-time equivalent staff are responsible for (a) brand management and (b) marketing at the Child Support Agency: and what the cost was of those staff in the last 12 months.
	The Agency uses the Department for Work and Pensions accounting system. While the accounting system does not have the functionality to report separately the discreet activities and day-to-day costs associated with either marketing or brand management, we can identify five full-time equivalent staff, at a range of grades, responsible for marketing at the Child Support Agency.
	The estimated cost for 2006/07 for these people, who are responsible for a range of activity including developing the Agency's external communication channels such as the website and planning the current Child Maintenance Enforcement Campaigns, was 125, 143.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency: Stationery

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Child Support Agency spent on  (a) stationery,  (b) business cards and  (c) building signs in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Support Agency spent on (a) stationery (b) business cards (c) building signsin each year since 1997.
	The Child Support Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions (and prior to 8 June 2001 formed part of the Department of Social Security). The Agency uses the Departments accounting system to record and report expenditure.
	In response to your question:
	Stationerythe Department's accounting system combines spend on both printing and stationery. I am therefore unable to provide a breakdown of stationery only. The total costs for printing and stationery are included in the table below.
	Business Cardsthe Department for Work and Pensions accounting system does not enable us to provide an analysis of spending on these products. As such, the spend on business cards in included in the table.
	Building signsthe Department for Work and Pensions accounting system does not enable us to provide an analysis of spending on these products. As such, the information is not available in the requested format.
	The printing and stationery costs included in the table all cover posters, leaflets, letters, printing supplies, paper, pens etc. used by the Child Support agency in a given year. The costs for printing and stationery over the last six years as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Printing and stationery ( million) 
			 2001-02 1.5 
			 2002-03 2.2 
			 2003-04 1.8 
			 2004-05 1.8 
			 2005/06 2.1 
			 2006-07 2.2 
			 Total 11.6 
		
	
	The Department retains records for six years in accordance with its statutory obligations, therefore information is not available on the earlier years.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency: Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what training courses were attended by Child Support Agency staff in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of each course to his Department;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1064W, on departmental training, how much was spent on courses for staff in the Child Support Agency in  (a) stress awareness,  (b) self development,  (c) self awareness,  (d) creative thinking,  (e) curriculum vitae writing,  (f) running staff clubs,  (g) facilitation skills,  (h) non-verbal behaviour,  (i) intervention skills and  (j) being a change agent in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many staff attended these courses.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty dated, 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of state promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training courses were attended by Child Support Agency staff in the last three years; and what the cost was of each course to his Department.
	You also asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26(th) February 2007, Official Report, column 1064W, on departmental training how much was spent on courses for staff in the Child support Agency in  (a) stress awareness,  (b) self development,  (c) self awareness,  (d) creative thinking,  (e) curriculum vitae writing,  (f) running staff clubs,  (g) facilitation skills,  (h) non-verbal behaviour,  (i) intervention skills and  (j) being a change agent in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many staff attended these courses.
	The Agency's training programme is aimed at making Agency people experts in their specialist business areas in order to effectively deliver more money to more children and improve client service. The Agency offers a wide range of training programmes, including technical training, work towards professionally accredited qualifications, and personal effectiveness training, including some of the courses specified above.
	This training is delivered using a number of methods, including our own Learning Resource Centre, Departmental e-learning courses that are available to all our people from their work station and accessed via the Department's Intranet, and external facilitator led training. Varying degrees of information are available for the training offered by each of these sources. Unfortunately, I am therefore unable to provide full detail of all Agency training over the last three years.
	Such information as is available is set out in the attached tables.
	In relation to the specific training courses you have requested details for, the number of training courses provided via the Learning Resource Centre over the past 3 years is set out in Table 1. However, the information provided is restricted to the number of variable length sessions delivered in the years specified, as information on the number of people participating in the training and the cost to the Agency of these training courses is not available in the format requested.
	I am unable to price information for the number of Departmental e-learning courses undertaken by Agency people. There is no cost associated with accessing Departmental e-learning, beyond the time spent taking these courses and their initial development. The Department covered all the developmental costs of these courses and the direct cost to the Agency of each course is nil.
	The number of Agency people undertaking the Department's external facilitator led course and the cost of these course is set out in Table 2.
	Finally, Tables 3 and 4 set out the number of technical skills training courses attended by Agency people in the last three years. Training set out in Table 4 supports the implementation of the Agency's Operational Improvement Plan, which focuses on delivering more money to more children. Unfortunately, information on the cost for each of these courses in not readily available.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of people who attended Learning Resource Centre training sessions during 2004-07 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Stress awareness 38 112 31 
			 Self development 236 322 128 
			 Creative thinking 11 13 8 
			 Curriculum vitae writing 58 6 0 
			 Facilitation skills 4 0 0 
			 Being a change agent 33 13 22 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Cost and quantity of DWP/External facilitator led training during 2004-07 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Course type  Number of people  Cost ()  Number of people  Cost ()  Number of people  Cost () 
			 Stress awareness 10 450 70 3,254 11 537 
			 Self development 69 8,023 101 8,087 9 3,853 
			 Curriculum vitae writing 58 2,252 6 450 0 0 
			 Facilitation skills 4 300 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of technical training course held during 2004-06 
			   Number of courses undertaken 
			  Course type  2004-05  2005-06 
			 New entrant-New system new rules 48 142 
			 New entrant-New system old rules 0 3 
			 New entrant old system old rules 7 18 
			 Existing staff-refresher training new rules 15 52 
			 Existing staff-refresher training old rules 16 13 
			 Business change CSRNew system new rules 395 168 
			 Business change CSRNew system old rules 0 8 
			 Total 481 396 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of technical training courses held during 2006-07 
			  Course  t ype  Number of courses undertaken 2006-07 
			 New client 92 
			 Client service 125 
			 Debt enforcement 28 
			 Legal enforcement 22 
			 Team leader 117 
			 Other 94 
			 Total 478

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deduction of earnings orders the Child Support Agency had in place in each month since January 2000; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deduction of earnings orders the Child Support Agency had in place in each month since January 2000; and if he will make a statement.
	Such information as is available, is presented in the attached table.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Number of cases, which have a deduction from earnings order (DEO) or a deduction from earnings request (DER) in place from February 2000 to March 2007 
			  Month ending  Cases with DEO or DER as method of maintenance collection 
			 February 2000 138,400 
			 May 2000 141,700 
			 August 2000 142,000 
			 November 2000 141,300 
			 February 2001 141,100 
			 May 2001 140,100 
			 August 2001 140,100 
			 November 2001 138,500 
			 February 2002 140,000 
			 May 2002 138,600 
			 August 2002 138,400 
			 November 2002 139,000 
			 February 2003-July 2004 (1) 
			 August 2004 132,900 
			 September 2004 133,800 
			 October 2004 134,500 
			 November 2004 136,000 
			 December 2004 141,300 
			 January 2005 138,000 
			 February 2005 139,800 
			 March 2005 141,300 
			 April 2005 142,100 
			 May 2005 142,900 
			 June 2005 144,500 
			 July 2005 146,400 
			 August 2005 148,600 
			 September 2005 149,900 
			 October 2005 151,300 
			 November 2005 153,000 
			 December 2005 153,700 
			 January 2006 155,100 
			 February 2006 156,200 
			 March 2006 158,600 
			 April 2006 160,100 
			 May 2006 161,600 
			 June 2006 162,600 
			 July 2006 164,200 
			 August 2006 165,200 
			 September 2006 165,400 
			 October 2006 165,500 
			 November 2006 166,100 
			 December 2006 158,100 
			 January 2007 160,400 
			 February 2007 160,600 
			 March 2007 162,700 
			 (1) Robust information covering the period February 2003 to July 2004 is not available.  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. The table includes deduction from earnings orders (DEOs) and deduction from earnings requests (DERs). DERs are the equivalent of DEOs when a non-resident parent is a member of the Armed Forces. 3. The table above includes those old-scheme cases with either a Full Maintenance Assessment or an Interim Maintenance Assessment; plus those new-scheme cases with either a Full Maintenance Calculation, or a Default Maintenance Decision. New-scheme cases being processed clerically are excluded from this analysis. 4. Data prior to March 2003 are only available quarterly. March 2007 is the most recent available. 5. The volume of deductions from earnings orders/requests (DEO/Rs) decreased to 158,000 in December 2006. This sudden fall was caused by a fix to the new computer system to suspend 8,500 ineffective DEOs on cases where employers had informed the Agency that the non-resident parent on that case was no longer in their employment. These DEOs have been suspended and the Agency put together a recovery plan to trace those non-resident parents and restore compliance, through DEOs where appropriate.

Children: Maintenance

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what performance targets he has set for Vertex to respond to cases referred to the Child Support Agency Bolton office by or on behalf of hon. Members; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the  (a) performance indicators and  (b) performance targets which he has set for Vertex for its management of the Bolton office of the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 12 June 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 June 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what performance targets he has set for Vertex to respond to cases referred to the Child Support Agency Bolton office by or on behalf of hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.
	and;
	You also asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the (a) performance indicators and (b) performance targets which he has set for Vertex for its management of the Bolton office of the Child Support Agency.
	Although the agency has contracted out the maintenance of its clerical cases to Vertex Data Science Ltd, the performance targets set by the Secretary of State apply to all Child Support cases regardless of whether they are clerical or not.
	The Secretary of State targets for the current operation year are:
	Number of childrenBy 31 March 2008, maintenance will be collected or have been arranged by the Agency on behalf of 720,000 children.
	Total Maintenance Collection (Arrears)Collect or have arranged 970 million in child maintenance between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008; of which at least 120 million maintenance will be arrears.
	Maintenance OutcomesBy 31 March 2008, in 66% of cases across both the new and old schemes in which a liability to pay maintenance exists, the non-resident parent has either made a payment via the collection service or a Maintenance Direct arrangement is in place.
	Uncleared applications to the New schemeBy 31 March 2008, the volume of uncleared new scheme applications will be no more than 140,000.
	In addition, the Agency's Client Service Standards, including responding to hon. Members correspondence applies to cases maintained by the Bolton office. We aim to reply to letters and either resolve complaints, or agree next steps, within three weeks of receiving them.
	Vertex Data Science Ltd performance against these measures is continually reviewed to ensure they are supporting the Agency's aim to deliver more money for more children.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates he has made of the number of children who would be lifted out of relative poverty if all non-resident parents were fully compliant with the payment of child support.

James Plaskitt: No estimate has been made of the number of children who would be lifted out of relative poverty if all non-resident parents were fully compliant with the payment of child support. To produce a robust estimate we would require information on the position in the income distribution of parents with care where the non-resident parent in the case is not fully compliant. This information is not available for all the relevant parents with care.

Community Care Grants: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average Social Fund Community Care Grant award was in West Lancashire constituency in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			  Lancashire West social fund operating unit 
			  Community care grant initial awards 
			   Average award size () 
			 2005-06 359 
			 2006-07 371 
			  Notes: 1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency but only by social fund operating unit. 2. West Lancashire parliamentary constituency is part of the social fund operating unit of Lancashire West. (This covered the same area as the Jobcentre Plus district of Lancashire West until 31 March 2006.) 3. Figures do not include awards made after review. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1.  Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Departments: Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on advertising by  (a) the Department and  (b) its non-departmental agencies in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The Department runs a number of promotional campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of rights and responsibilities. The table details spend on advertising campaigns run by the Department in each of the last five complete financial years.
	Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and in order for them to work they must be communicated effectively. But that also has to be done with cost efficiency in mind and there are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising.
	
		
			   000 
			  Departmental advertising costs 2006-07( 1)  
			 Age Partnership Group 9 
			 Age Positive 40 
			 Targeting benefit fraud| 5,418 
			 Reducing customer error 45 
			 The Pension Service core benefit take up 881 
			 Winter fuel payments 343 
			 Child maintenance enforcement 107 
			 Jobcentre Plus promotion to Black and Minority Ethnic audience 687 
			 Job Done 765 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 50+ Pilot 83 
			 Lone parent 171 
			   
			  Departmental advertising costs 2005-06( 1)  
			 State pension deferral 300 
			 Images of disability 2 
			 Targeting benefit fraud 4,553 
			 Pension credit 362 
			 Winter fuel payments 918 
			 State second pension 675 
			 Age Partnership group 19 
			 National sector campaign 23 
			   
			  Departmental advertising costs 2004-05( 1)  
			 Age Positive 29 
			 State pension deferral 115 
			 Disability Discrimination Act 1,992 
			 Targeting benefit fraud 6,017 
			 Direct payment 8,379 
			 Council tax benefit 674 
			 Pension credit 4,388 
			 Winter fuel payments 515 
			 Lone parent leaflet promotion marketing 216 
			 National vacancy campaign 390 
			 IB reforms pilots 106 
			   
			  Departmental advertising costs 2003-04( 1)  
			 Age positive 70 
			 Second state pension 216 
			 Pension service awareness 906 
			 New Deal 5,678 
			 Disability Discrimination Act 40 
			 Targeting benefit fraud 8,383 
			 Direct payment 11,095 
			 Council tax benefit 556 
			 Pension credit 9,907 
			 Winter fuel payments 625 
			 Jobseekers direct 1,632 
			 IB reforms pilot 113 
			 Jobcentre Plus customer marketing 1,401 
			 National employer campaign 1,158 
			   
			  Departmental advertising costs 2002-03( 1)  
			 Age positive 706 
			 Future pensioners/informed choice 2,878 
			 Second state pension 489 
			 New Deal for Musicians 33 
			 Disability Discrimination Act 50 
			 Targeting benefit fraud 35 
			 Direct payment 858 
			 Winter fuel payments 627 
			 Inherited serps 646 
			 (1) The table does not include the following as the information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost: spend by non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible; details of highly localised publicity activity by the Department's customer-facing businesses; recruitment or procurement advertising; Jobcentre Plus publicity during 2002 to 2003 as at that time allocations sat with individual policy teams and within regional budgets. 
		
	
	The information in the table relates to media buying expenditure only, which forms the bulk of departmental publicity expenditure, but excludes direct mail, public relations, production and other costs. All figures are exclusive of VAT.

Departments: Correspondence

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets have been set for replies to letters from his Department's offices; what targets have been set in Kent; and which of these targets have been met in each of the last 24 months.

James Plaskitt: Each of the agencies within the Department records correspondence from customers in a different way, therefore I have listed the performance information for each agency separately.
	 Child Support Agency
	The information requested is in the following table. The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 15 working days. It is not possible to provide figures for Kent separately, but I can give you the figures for the South East area which includes Kent.
	
		
			   Percentage cleared in target 
			   National  South East 
			 April 2005 86.5 78.4 
			 May 2005 88.2 84.4 
			 June 2005 89.0 89.0 
			 July 2005 88.5 88.0 
			 August 2005 88.4 86.6 
			 September 2005 88.4 86.0 
			 October 2005 88.3 85.8 
			 November 2005 88.2 85.3 
			 December 2005 88.1 84.9 
			 January 2006 88.3 83.7 
			 February 2006 88.25 81.6 
			 March 2006 88.6 76.9 
			 April 2006 87.6 78.8 
			 May 2006 89.3 79.2 
			 June 2006 89.7 81.1 
			 July 2006 90.1 82.2 
			 August 2006 90.7 81.9 
			 September 2006 90.4 81.0 
			 October 2006 90.7 82.0 
			 November 2006 90.9 82.9 
			 December 2006 90.7 80.7 
			 January 2007 89.9 78.2 
			 February 2007 89.0 77.6 
			 March 2007 88.2 76.9 
		
	
	 Jobcentre Plus
	The information requested is in the following table. The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 10 working days.
	
		
			   Percentage cleared in target 
			   National  Ken t 
			 April 2005 79.10 94.83 
			 May 2005 82.16 89.89 
			 June 2005 86.82 94.64 
			 July 2005 84.54 89.33 
			 August 2005 83.93 89.47 
			 September 2005 83.63 90.70 
			 October 2005 80.81 94.92 
			 November 2005 81.93 94.74 
			 December 2005 79.80 90.63 
			 January 2006 81 .09 91.57 
			 February 2006 81.07 92.50 
			 March 2006 79.51 94.02 
			 April 2006 74.87 97.33 
			 May 2006 79.73 89.22 
			 June 2006 75.72 96.00 
			 July 2006 75.14 97.00 
			 August 2006 81.79 100.00 
			 September 2006 82.21 96.25 
			 October 2006 81.44 91.07 
			 November 2006 83.07 92.62 
			 December 2006 83.67 95.70 
			 January 2007 86.13 95.48 
			 February 2007 84.64 94.03 
			 March 2007 87.25 98.44 
		
	
	The Pension Service: The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 10 working days. Information on correspondence is not collected monthly but I am able to provide the national quarterly figures for the last 24 months. This is shown in the first table. The second table gives the figures for correspondence from the Motherwell Pension Centre, this is the centre that covers the Kent area. It is not possible to provide figures for Kent separately as information is not recorded in this way.
	
		
			   Percentage in target 
			  2005-06  
			 Qrt1 77 
			 Qrt2 77 
			 Qrt3 88 
			 Qrt4 86 
			  2006-07  
			 Qrt1 79 
			 Qrt2 88 
			 Qrt3 83 
			 Qrt4 83 
		
	
	
		
			   Percentage in target 
			  2005-06  
			 Qrt1 60 
			 Qrt2 93 
			 Qrt3 100 
			 Qrt4 70 
			  2006-07  
			 Qrt1 93 
			 Qrt2 96 
			 Qrt3 90 
			 Qrt4 83 
		
	
	 Disability and Carers Service
	The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 10 working days. Information on the time taken to reply to correspondence is not recorded monthly but I am able to provide you the figures for calendar years 2005 and 2006. These figures are the result of checking an annual sample of 384 cases and can be found in the following table. Figures for Kent are not available as information is only recorded nationally.
	
		
			   2005-06 
			   Target  Achievement 
			 Number of checks meeting the standard (percentage) 100 97 
			 Average reply time (working days) 10 3 
		
	
	 The Rent Service
	The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 10 working days. Figures for Kent are not recorded separately.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			 April 100 100 
			 May 97 100 
			 June 93 100 
			 July 100 100 
			 August 94 100 
			 September 95 100 
			 October 100.3 100 
			 November 94 100 
			 December 100 100 
			 January 95 100 
			 February 97 100 
			 March 100 100 
		
	
	 Debt Management
	The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in seven working days. Information is only available from April 2006 and figures for Kent are not recorded separately.
	
		
			   NationalPercentage cleared in target 
			 April 2006 49 
			 May 2006 44 
			 June 2006 40 
			 July 2006 47 
			 August 2006 50 
			 September 2006 56 
			 October 2006 49 
			 November 2006 54 
			 December 2006 53 
			 January 2007 50 
			 February 2007 53 
			 March 2007 46 
			 April 2007 58 
			 May 2007 53 
		
	
	 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
	The target for replying to correspondence from members of the public and their representatives is to reply to 100 per cent. of letters in 10 working days. I am unable to tell you how HSE has performed against this target as records are not kept centrally. Figures for Kent are not recorded separately.
	The Department's target for replying to correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers to Ministers is to respond to at least 90 per cent. of letters within 20 working days. The Department achieved 90 per cent. in both calendar years 2005 and 2006.

Departments: Disclosure of Information

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of people receiving confidential information about other individuals in error there were in each of the last five years in  (a) Jobcentre Plus,  (b) the Child Support Agency and  (c) the Pensions Service.

Jim Murphy: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Official Residences

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the official ministerial residences allocated to Ministers in his Department; and what the total annual cost is of running each.

Anne McGuire: No Ministers in my Department have been allocated ministerial residences.

Departments: Postal Services

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons were for the decision to move his Department's post opening and distribution services in Kent from Haden Building Management to the Royal Mail.

Anne McGuire: The decision to move the Department's post opening and distribution services in Kent from Haden Building Management to the Royal Mail was a consequence of DWP's review of office services, which includes post opening. This review concluded that the Department would make considerable operational benefits, provide significant cost savings and greater value for money to the Department and the taxpayer, by moving a new operating methodology by means of a single national contract.
	Following competition, Haden Building Management won the contract to deliver the entire Department's office services requirements from 1 March 2007. Royal Mail is a subcontractor to Haden, opening post at Royal Mail centres, in secure mail opening units.

Direct Payments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which financial institutions participate in the Direct Payments Scheme.

James Plaskitt: This is a matter for my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Disabled People: Poverty

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of  (a) people with disabilities of working age and  (b) children with disabilities were living in poverty in each Government office region in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2004-05.

Jim Murphy: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Employment Services: Digital Broadcasting

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether digital television job services are available in Wirral;
	(2)  what provisions exist for people without access to digital television or the internet to access job search services;
	(3)  what steps are being taken to advertise the provision of digital television services to those seeking jobs;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the average age of people using the digital television job search services;
	(5)  what level of use of digital television job search services was recorded in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from  Mel Groves , dated 21 June 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about jobsearch services available through digital television. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying on her behalf as Acting Chief Executive.
	Jobcentre Plus published a News Release on 2 April 2007 to launch the national job search engine on digital television in partnership with Looking Local, the local government digital TV portal. Looking Local is part of DigiTV, which is a not-for-profit organisation run by, and for, local government. DigiTV is currently working with over 75 Local Authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	The digital television jobsearch services are available in Wirral. Although Wirral Council are not currently delivering services through DigiTV's Looking Local, other councils in the area are, and these are accessible across the Wirral.
	Customers without digital television or the Internet can access Jobcentre Plus vacancies through channels such as Jobseeker Direct (a telephone job search service), Jobpoints (in all Jobcentre Plus offices), and External Kiosks in third party premises such as libraries. We also offer assisted jobsearch through our Personal Advisers in Jobcentre Plus offices, and some outreach premises, for more disadvantaged customers. In addition, all employment programmes delivered through Jobcentre Plus contain a jobsearch element, for example, Programme Centres offer Internet access, newspapers, and support on the range of jobsearch skills, including CV preparation, completing job applications and interview skills.
	Jobcentre Plus has no current plans to advertise or evaluate digital television jobsearch services. The services offered through digital television form part of a wider set of services, available across a range of channels for those seeking work. The two pilots that took place in Kingston-upon-Hull (2003), and London (2005), were evaluated, but did not report on the age range of users.
	Looking Local currently averages 270,000 hits per month for jobsearch services but information is not available broken down by region.

Housing Benefit: Temporary Accommodation

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to change the level of non-Housing Revenue Account housing benefit subsidy to local authorities for homeless households placed in temporary accommodation in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

James Plaskitt: A questionnaire has been sent to a sample of local authorities seeking information on the use and costs of temporary accommodation. Until we have considered the results of this questionnaire, no decision can be made about subsidy arrangements in respect of homeless households in temporary accommodation for 2008-09.
	We are continuing to work with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the devolved Administrations on our longer term proposals which would separate out reasonable costs for the rent and management of temporary accommodation; we would expect these to take effect from 2009.

Incapacity Benefit

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of disability living allowance who also claim incapacity benefit have been on incapacity benefit for more than  (a) six months,  (b) 12 months,  (c) 18 months,  (d) 24 months and  (e) 60 months.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 19 June 2007
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of claimants of DLA, who also claim IB/SDANovember 2006 
			   Duration of IB/SDA claim 
			   Six months up to one year  One year and up to 18 months  18 months and up to two years  Two years and up to five years  Five years and over 
			 DLA entitled cases also claiming IB/SDA 38,670 39,800 38,190 241,830 903,340 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS

Incapacity Benefit: Disposable Income

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median net disposable income of households receiving incapacity benefit was  (a) before and  (b) after housing costs were taken into account in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Latest available data show that the median net (disposable) weekly income of households receiving incapacity benefit is 302 before housing costs and 260 after housing costs.
	 Notes
	1. The source of the information provided is the Family Resources Survey (FRS), United Kingdom 2005-06. The Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 28,000 households.
	2. Data for 2005-06 were collected between April 2005 and March 2006.
	3. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government Office Region populations by age and gender. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	4. Incapacity benefit receipt is under-reported on the FRS. However, there is no other reliable source for this information at a household level.
	5. Figures for the median net weekly income are rounded to the nearest pound.
	6. Net (disposable) weekly income includes income from all sources for all adults and children in the household, less income tax and national insurance contributions (for adults).
	7. Housing costs include household rent for rented accommodation or mortgage interest for those buying their home with a mortgage, plus water and sewerage charges (including council tax water charge in Scotland), plus premiums paid on structural insurance, plus charges for owner occupiers (ground rent, service charges etc.).

Incapacity Benefit: Disposable Income

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median equivalised net disposable income  (a) before and  (b) after housing costs were taken into account was of individuals in households receiving incapacity benefit in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Latest available data show that the median equivalised net (disposable) weekly income of households receiving incapacity benefit is 271 before housing costs and 228 after housing costs.
	 Notes
	1. The source of the information provided is the Family Resources Survey (FRS), United Kingdom 2005-06. The Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 28,000 households.
	2. Data for 2005-06 were collected between April 2005 and March 2006.
	3. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government Office Region populations by age and gender. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	4. Incapacity benefit receipt is under-reported on the FRS. However, there is no other reliable source for this information at a household level.
	5. Figures for the median equivalised net disposable weekly income are rounded to the nearest pound.
	6. Net (disposable) weekly income includes income from all sources for all adults and children in the household, less income tax and NI contributions (for adults).
	7. Housing costs include household rent for rented accommodation or mortgage interest for those buying their home with a mortgage, plus water and sewerage charges (including council tax water charge in Scotland), plus premiums paid on structural insurance, plus charges for owner occupiers (ground rent, service charges etc.).

Incapacity Benefit: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in West Lancashire were registered for  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) jobseeker's allowance in the financial year ending (i) March 1997 and (ii) March 2007.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefits and jobseeker's allowance claimants in the Lancashire West parliamentary constituency ,  November  1997 and 2006 
			   Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance  Jobseeker's allowance 
			 November 1997 6,200 2,388 
			 November 2006 4,880 1,623 
			  Notes: 1. JSA figures are unrounded, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance figures for November 1997 are rounded to the nearest 100 and the November 2006 figures to the nearest 10. 2. Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance figures for November 1997 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and have been uprated in accordance with Great Britain WPLS 100 per cent. IB/SDA totals. 3. Claimant figures for incapacity benefit include incapacity benefit credits-only cases.  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems; DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. Sample for November 1997 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. Data for November 2006.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents made repeat claims for income support in West Lancashire in each month since 2005.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Chard

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people visited the Jobcentre in Chard in each month since July 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves, dated 21 June 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of people who have visited Chard Jobcentre since July 2006. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying on her behalf as Acting Chief Executive.
	I am unable to provide details of customer usage in Chard Jobcentre since July 2006 as this information is not recorded in sufficient detail. We are analysing the number of customers using the office as part of the office network review. This monitoring commenced on 21 May 2007 and is being undertaken over a six week period.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were available through the job centres in West Lancashire constituency in the financial year ending March  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2007.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus in the West Lancashire Parliamentary Constituency 
			  Financial year  Number of vacancies 
			 2006-07 8,690 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Information is only available at constituency level from April 2004. 3. Figures are not fully comparable over time and may not indicate developments in the labour market.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System.

Low Incomes: Disabled

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of working age disabled adults were living on less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income in each year since 1996-97.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	Figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors and therefore will not be the same as any figures previously published which were based on McClements equivalisation factors.
	
		
			  Percentage of working-age disabled adults living in households below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 1996-97 21 30 
			 1997-98 22 29 
			 1998-99 23 31 
			 1999-2000 24 32 
			 2000-01 25 32 
			 2001-02 27 33 
			 2002-03 24 31 
			 2003-04 24 30 
			 2004-05 25 31 
			  Source: Family Resources Survey

National Insurance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many temporary national insurance numbers were issued between April 2006 and April 2007.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 2 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2593W.

National Insurance Contributions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of increasing the upper earnings limit for personal accounts in line with the proposed increase in the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions on the intended focus of personal accounts on those on median and below median earnings.

James Purnell: The personal accounts earnings band thresholds will be set at around 5,000 and 33,500 (in 2006-07 terms) uprated thereafter annually in line with average earnings. This will establish the thresholds in their own right and break the link with tax and NICs thresholds and will ensure that personal accounts is targeted at moderate to low earners.

National Insurance Contributions: Rebates

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people  (a) aged 44 and over in appropriate personal pensions and  (b) aged 48 and over in money purchase schemes for whom contracted-out rebates may not replace foregone state second pension benefits; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many UK citizens are in  (a) appropriate personal pensions (APPs) and  (b) money purchase schemes which are contracted-out; how many of these people are aged (i) over 44 in APPs and (ii) over 48 in money purchase schemes; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: Information on the number of people contracted out on a defined contribution basis for the latest year for which validated data are available, broken down by the scheme types and age groups specified, is in the table.
	
		
			  Scheme type  Total in tax year 2003-04 (Thousand) 
			  Appropriate personal pension (including stakeholder pension)  
			 All ages 4,669 
			 Of whom aged over 44 1,157 
			   
			  Contracted  o ut  m oney  p urchase  s cheme  
			 All ages 152 
			 Of whom aged over 48 38 
			  Note: The 'pivotal age' for 2003-04 was 52 for both appropriate personal pensions and contracted-out money purchase schemes.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Lifetime Labour Market Database one per cent. sample of the National Insurance Recording System.

National Insurance Contributions: Rebates

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what action he has taken to inform individuals  (a) aged 44 and over in appropriate personal pensions and  (b) aged 48 and over in money purchase schemes that their contracted-out rebates may not replace the foregone state second pension benefits; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether it is the policy of his Department to encourage people over the age of 40 years to take up opted out defined contribution pension schemes; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: Contracting out on a defined contribution basis when over the pivotal age (currently 44 for personal pensions and 48 for occupational schemes) is not usually financially beneficial, particularly where there is no employer pension contribution. However, an individual may have their own reasons for making this choice as contracting out offers flexibility not available under the State pension scheme. It is not the Department's policy to encourage or discourage people from contracting out. It is for individuals to decide what sort of pension provision is best for them, given their own personal circumstances.
	Selling and advising on all personal pension schemes, including appropriate personal pensions, is subject to the Financial Services Authority's rules on marketing and promotion, provision of suitable advice and provision of information at the point of sale. In addition, in relation to contracting out via an appropriate personal pension scheme, The Financial Services Authority Factsheet The State Second Pensionshould you be contracted out? says that those in older age groups are likely to be financially worse off by contracting out.

New Deal

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his statement of 4 June 2007,  Official Report, column 3, on the new deal, if he will respond to the report by David Freud entitled Reducing dependency, increasing opportunity: options for the future before the summer recess.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 20 June 2007
	 We will respond to the Freud report in the summer.

New Deal

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on the new deal for disabled people in each year since 2001.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New Deal for Disabled People 
			   Spend ( million) 
			 2001-02 4 
			 2002-03 16 
			 2003-04 28 
			 2004-05 65 
			 2005-06 68 
			  Notes:  1. Data are in financial not calendar years.  2. Following agreement with HM Treasury in 2002-03, ring fences were removed from new deal. Administrative costs are excluded as it is no longer possible to identify the costs of administering the costs of each new deal separately from the costs of other labour market activities.  Source:  DWP Departmental Reports 2004-05, Jobcentre Plus Accounts 2005-06.

New Deal

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what training is compulsory for people who are entering the new deal for disabled people for the  (a) first time and  (b) second and subsequent times;
	(2)  what training is compulsory for people who are entering the New Deal 50 plus for the  (a) first time and  (b) second and subsequent times;
	(3)  what training is compulsory for people who are entering the new deal for lone parents for the  (a) first time and  (b) second and subsequent times.

Jim Murphy: New deal for disabled people, new deal 50 plus and new deal for lone parents are all voluntary programmes and no element of these programmes is compulsory for participants.

New Deal

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many lone parents participated in the new deal in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north east and  (d) Great Britain in each year since its inception;
	(2)  how many people over 50 years participated in the new deal in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north east and  (d) the UK in each year since its inception;
	(3)  how many over 25-year-olds participated in the new deal in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north east and  (d) the UK in each year since its inception;
	(4)  how many young people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north east and  (d) the UK participated in the new deal in each year since its inception;
	(5)  how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the north east and  (d) the UK participated in the new deal in each year since its inception.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  New deal in Jarrow parliamentary constituency 
			   People starting 
			   New deal for young people  New deal 25 plus  New deal for lone parents  New deal 50 plus  New deal 
			 1998 330 60 10  400 
			 1999 320 120 140  580 
			 2000 260 120 170  550 
			 2001 290 260 150  700 
			 2002 260 290 150  700 
			 2003 270 300 210  780 
			 2004 290 210 270 50 830 
			 2005 280 220 380 70 990 
			 2006 400 330 340 30 1,110 
		
	
	
		
			  New deal in South Tyneside local authority 
			   People starting 
			   New deal for young people  New deal 25 plus  New deal for lone parents  New deal 50 plus  New deal 
			 1998 680 130 30  840 
			 1999 680 270 300  1,250 
			 2000 570 310 330  1,210 
			 2001 630 650 340  1,620 
			 2002 570 710 330  1,610 
			 2003 620 700 420  1,740 
			 2004 650 550 560 140 1,920 
			 2005 670 570 740 220 2,260 
			 2006 960 740 600 50 2,370 
		
	
	
		
			  New deal in north east Jobcentre Plus region 
			   People starting 
			   New deal for young people  New deal 25 plus  New deal for lone parents  New deal 50 plus  New deal 
			 1998 9,600 2,650 410  12,660 
			 1999 9,200 4,570 3,240  17,010 
			 2000 8,760 4,320 3,160  16,240 
			 2001 8,430 5,620 3,790  18,610 
			 2002 8,360 6,420 5,010  22,510 
			 2003 8,610 5,470 5,410  23,270 
			 2004 7,410 4,330 7,150 1,720 26,160 
			 2005 8,290 4,620 7,670 1,830 28,150 
			 2006 11,760 6,320 7,210 820 33,050 
		
	
	
		
			  New deal in Great Britain 
			   People starting 
			   New deal for young people  New deal 25 plus  New deal for lone parents  New deal 50 plus  New deal 
			 1998 137,010 40,430 8,860  186,300 
			 1999 128,150 72,060 59,120  259,330 
			 2000 115,370 60,530 59,130  235,030 
			 2001 106,950 76,380 64,080  253,220 
			 2002 110,730 81,610 86,690  303,650 
			 2003 122,690 80,690 90,900  324,990 
			 2004 115,760 80,250 114,660 36,090 397,780 
			 2005 128,500 78,800 122,080 26,730 418,110 
			 2006 178,690 94,210 115,240 15,930 469,170 
			  Notes:  1. Information on new deal is available for Great Britain, not the UK.  2. Information for South Tyneside is available by local authority area.  3. Information for the north east is available by Jobcentre Plus region.  4. Information for new deal as a whole includes, where available, data for new deal for disabled people and new deal for partners. Individual new deal figures may thus not sum to totals.  5. Information on people joining the new deal 50 plus caseload is only available from January 2004.  6. Information is for individuals. If a person has started new deal more than once, only their latest start is included in the table.  Source:  New Deal Evaluation Database, Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

New Deal for Long Term Unemployed

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is compulsory for people who are entering the new deal 25 plus for the  (a) first time and  (b) second and subsequent times.

Jim Murphy: New deal 25 plus is a mandatory programme for participants. Those who have not found work and left jobseeker's allowance after completing the Gateway part of the programme are required to participate in the intensive activity period (IAP), which provides a package of help tailored to meet an individual's needs.
	Although it is compulsory to participate in an IAP, it is not compulsory for participants to undertake training or choose the Education and Training Opportunities, whether joining the programme for the first or subsequent time.

New Deal Schemes: Blackpool

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency received assistance from the new deal in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency 
			   People starting  People gaining a job 
			 1998 250 130 
			 1999 400 290 
			 2000 370 300 
			 2001 390 310 
			 2002 470 350 
			 2003 420 360 
			 2004 550 340 
			 2005 580 320 
			 2006 600  
			  Notes:  1. Information consists of people starting and gaining a job through new deal for young people, new deal 25 plus, new deal for lone parents, new deal 50 plus and new deal for partners.  2. Information for starts to new deal 50 plus is only available from January 2004 and for those gaining a job through the programme from April 2003.  3. Information for new deal for partners for starts and jobs gained is only available from April 2004 by year at parliamentary constituency level.  4. Information on new deal for disabled people is not available at parliamentary constituency level.  5. Latest complete year data are for 2006 for people starting new deal and 2005 for people gaining a job.  6. Programme start dates are: new deal for young people: January 1998; new deal 25 plus: July 1998; new deal for lone parents: October 1998; new deal 50 plus: April 2000. new deal for partners: April 1999.  7. Data are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  New Deal Evaluation Database, Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

New Deal Schemes: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in West Lancashire constituency received assistance from the New Deal in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New Deal in the West Lancashire Constituency 
			   People starting  People gaining a job 
			 1998 400 170 
			 1999 440 360 
			 2000 460 440 
			 2001 490 350 
			 2002 520 400 
			 2003 640 440 
			 2004 580 390 
			 2005 650 340 
			 2006 660  
			  Notes: 1. Information consists of people starting and gaining a job through New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25 plus, New Deal for Lone Parents, New Deal 50 plus and New Deal for Partners. 2. Information for starts to New Deal 50 plus is only available from January 2004 and for those gaining a job through the programme from April 2003. 3. Information for New Deal for Partners for starts and jobs gained is only available from April 2004 by year at Parliamentary Constituency level. 4. Information on New Deal for Disabled People is not available at parliamentary constituency level. 5. Latest complete year data are for 2006 for people starting New Deal and 2005 for people gaining a job. 6. Programme start dates are: New Deal for Young People: January 1998; New Deal 25 plus: July 1998; New Deal for Lone Parents: October 1998; New Deal 50 plus: April 2000; New Deal for Disabled People: July 2001. 7. Data are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: New Deal Evaluation Database, Information Directorate Department for Work and Pensions.

Occupational Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, columns 364-65W, on pensions, 
	(1)  how many employees benefiting from combined employer and employee contributions in excess of  (a) 3,000 and  (b) 5,000 belong to (i) private sector defined benefit or hybrid schemes that are open to new members, (ii) private sector defined benefit or hybrid schemes that are closed to new members and (iii) private sector defined contribution schemes;
	(2)  whether the recorded contribution levels exclude the value of contracted-out rebates; and how many employees in each contribution band were contracted out;
	(3)  how many employees benefiting from combined employer and employee contribution in excess of 5,000 work in  (a) the private sector and  (b) the public sector;
	(4)  if he will expand the table to show the number of employees with combined employer and employee contributions that are  (a) less than 1,000,  (b) 1,000 to 1,999,  (c) 2,000, to 2,999,  (d) 3,000 to 3,999,  (e) 4,000 to 4,999,  (f) 5,000 to 9,999 and  (g) 10,000 or more.

James Purnell: The table presented in the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 364-65W, showed information derived from a 2005 dataset. The analysis has been repeated using the latest available 2006 data and the results are presented in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of employees by level of combined employer and employee pension contributions: Great Britain, 2006 
			  Total contribution  Number of employees (million) 
			 Less than 5,000 7.9 
			 5,000 to 5,999 1.1 
			 6,000 to 7,499 1.2 
			 7,500 to 9,999 0.9 
			  Note:  The figures provided exclude the value of contracted-out rebates  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006 
		
	
	The following tables present additional analyses, consistent with the results presented in table 1:
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of private sector employees by level of combined employer and employee pension contributions and type of scheme: Great Britain, 2006 
			   Number of private sector employees (million) 
			  Total contribution  Defined benefit  Defined contribution 
			 3,000 to 4,999 0.6 0.2 
			 5,000 or more 1.2 0.3 
			  Notes: 1. No information is available about scheme status. 2. No information about employment sector was available for a further 0.6 million members of defined benefit schemes and 30,000 members of defined contribution schemes  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of employees by level of combined employer and employee pension contributions and contracted out status: Great Britain 2006 
			  Total contribution  Number of employees contracted out (million) 
			 Less than 5,000 5.0 
			 5,000 to 5,999 1.0 
			 6,000 to 7,499 1.1 
			 7,500 to 9,999 0.8 
			  Note: Contributions exclude the value of contracted-out rebates.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of employees with combined employer and employee pension contributions in excess of 5,000 by employment sector: Great Britain 2006 
			   Number of employees with total contributions in excess of 5,000 (million) 
			 Private sector 1.8 
			 Public sector 2.0 
			  Note:  No information about employment sector was available for a further 0.4 million employees  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: Number of employees by level of combined employer and employee pension contributions: Great Britain, 2006 
			  Total contribution  Number of employees (million) 
			 Less than 1,000 1.4 
			 1,000 to 1,999 1.8 
			 2,000 to 2,999 1.8 
			 3,000 to 3,999 1.6 
			 4,000 to 4,999 1.3 
			 5,000 to 9,999 3.3 
			 10,000 or more 0.9 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Office for National Statistics). 2006 is the latest year for which the data are available. The coverage of the survey is Great Britain.  2. The answers only include employees aged 16 to state pension age. 3. Total pension contributions include both employee and employer contributions. 4. No information is available separately on hybrid schemes. 5. No information is available about scheme status (schemes that are open or closed to new members). 6. The answers in tables 3 to 5 cover: Occupational pension schemes (including defined benefit schemes and defined contribution schemes), group personal pension schemes, stakeholder pension schemes and those where the pension category was unknown. 7. The figures provided exclude the value of contracted-out rebates. 8. Individuals who are members of a pension scheme but where there is no information about employer or employee contributions have not been included.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date.

James Plaskitt: In 2006, 3,461 ordinary written questions were tabled to the Department, of which 48.7 per cent. were replied to within 10 working days and 669 named day questions were tabled, of which 30.5 per cent. received a full reply by the specific date, with all others receiving a holding reply.

Pensions: Overseas Residence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons are for the policy of freezing UK pensions overseas.

James Purnell: The UK state pension is fully exportable but is only uprated where there is a reciprocal social security agreement or legal requirement to do so. Our priority is to focus our efforts and available limited resources on pensioners resident in the UK.
	To uprate the pension in frozen rate countries would cost around 440 million(1) in 2007-08 and would increase year on year.
	(1) This figure does not include paying any arrears.

Personal Accounts Savings Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the impact of a contribution cap of  (a) 3,000 and  (b) 5,000 on the proposed personal accounts savings scheme if the upper earnings limit for contributions were increased to 43,000.

James Purnell: On 14 June 2007, the Government published their summary of responses to the White Paper Personal accounts: a new way to save consultation exercise. That document signalled our intention to establish the personal accounts earning band in line with the primary threshold and upper earnings limit from 2006-07 and to uprate these thresholds annually in line with average earnings. This means that the personal accounts earning band will not increase to the new level of the upper earnings limit that was announced in this year's Budget.
	We also announced that the personal accounts annual contribution limit would be set at a level of 3,600 in 2005 earnings terms, and uprated according to earnings to 2012 and beyond. Such a figure will ensure that personal accounts will stay focused on the target market, complementing rather than competing with existing provision, while still providing moderate to low earners with sufficient room to meet benchmark replacement rates.

Personal Accounts Savings Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the additional cost to employers of the proposed personal accounts savings scheme if the upper earnings limit for contributions to the proposed personal accounts scheme were increased to 43,000.

James Purnell: As the Government's response to their consultation on the White Paper Personal Accounts: a new way to save, sets out we will not increase the personal accounts earnings band upper threshold to reflect the increases in the tax and national insurance thresholds announced in the Budget. An increase in the upper threshold to 43,000 would have cost employers an additional 150 to 200 million a year.

Personal Accounts Savings Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what percentage of cases the median earner detailed on pages 113 and 114 of the regulatory impact assessment to Personal Accounts: A New Way to Save would have a replacement rate in excess of 100 per cent. if he saved  (a) 3,000 each year and  (b) 5,000 each year, according to the Department's stochastic modelling.

James Purnell: Estimates of pension income are heavily driven by a number of assumptions, such as the asset allocation in a particular fund choice, the age at which the individual starts saving and the choice of annuity. It is therefore not possible to say with absolute certainty with which amount of annual savings an individual would achieve a replacement rate of above 100 per cent.
	However, both under a contribution limit of 3,000 and 5,000 a median earner with a full working life is likely to be able to achieve an adequate pension income as defined by a replacement rate. This would require additional voluntary savings above the default contribution. Clearly, the higher an individual's contributions, the more likely they are to achieve a particular retirement income.
	On 14 June, 2007, the Government published their summary of responses to the White Paper Personal Accounts: A New Way to Save consultation exercise. This document contained further analysis on the personal accounts contribution limit and concluded that an annual limit of 3,600 would be an appropriate figure. Such a figure will ensure that personal accounts will stay focused on the target market, complementing rather than competing with existing provision, while still providing moderate to low earners with sufficient room to meet benchmark replacement rates.

Personal Accounts Savings Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what replacement rate the median earner described on pages 113 and 114 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment to Personal Accounts: A New Way to Save would achieve if investments performed in line with central assumptions each year and if his total savings were  (a) 3,000 each year and  (b) 5,000 each year.

James Purnell: If investment returns were in line with the estimated average of a 3.5 per cent. real rate of return in each year, a median earner, who contributed up to the contribution limit in each year, would, in principle, be able to reach  (a) around a two thirds per cent. replacement rate with a 3,000 contribution limit and  (b) around an 85 to 90 per cent. replacement rate with a 5,000 contribution limit. The benchmark replacement rate for a median earner is around two thirds which is in principle attainable with a 3,000 contribution limit.
	However, these replacement rates are based on the assumption of a full working life (age 21 to 68) and hence a high number of years of saving (46 years). Some people in personal accounts are likely to start saving at a later age than 21 or have caring breaks in their working life and thus need a somewhat higher degree of flexibility of saving to reach their benchmark replacement rates.
	On 14 June, 2007, the Government published their summary of responses to the White Paper Personal accounts: a new way to save consultation exercise. This document contained further analysis on the personal accounts contribution limit and concluded that an annual limit of 3,600 would be an appropriate figure. Such a figure will ensure that Personal Accounts will stay focused on the target market, complementing rather than competing with existing provision, while still providing moderate to low earners with sufficient room to meet benchmark replacement rates.

Personal Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the required personal contribution into a personal pension which would have to be made by a person aged 35, on median earnings and retiring at age 65, in order to receive a pension in retirement equal to  (a) 25 per cent.,  (b) 30 per cent.,  (c) 35 per cent.,  (d) 40 per cent.,  (e) 45 per cent. and  (f) 50 per cent. of their median earnings; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: Published analysis regarding the replacement rates and incomes individuals could expect at retirement can be found in Figure 2.iii of the May 2006 White Paper, Security in Retirement Regulatory Impact Assessment. This shows that an individual with an average lifetime income of 25,000, who is 30 in 2012, could expect a replacement rate of 44 per cent. from having saved in a personal account, an improvement of 10 per cent. over the non-saving replacement rate.
	This table provides an indication of the net individual contribution rates required to achieve an income in retirement equivalent to a proportion of earnings today. This is based on a male median earner (24,000 in 2007-08) who starts work aged 25 and starts saving at age 35 in 2012 to retirement at age 68. This individual would achieve a total replacement rate of 45 per cent. (an improvement of 9 per cent. from having saved) with contributions above the band of 4 per cent. from the employee, 1 per cent. from tax relief and 3 per cent. from the employer.
	Rates in the table are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Net individual contribution rate (on banded earnings)  Percentage of total earnings  Replacement rate from pension saving  Total replacement rate 
			 13 10 25 61 
			 16 13 30 66 
			 19 15 35 71 
			 22 17 40 76 
			 25 19 45 81 
			 28 22 50 86 
			  Notes: 1. This table is for illustrative purposes only. It should not be used as the basis for individual decisions as specific circumstances or variation from the underlying assumptions will lead to different results. 2. The results assume an AMC of 0.5 per cent., an employer contribution of 3 per cent., no phasing of contributions, and no contribution cap.

Remploy

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether  (a) Remploy and  (b) other sheltered employment agencies are exempt from competition rules which might protect the contracts they can secure from public bodies and Government agencies in the UK;
	(2)  which competition rules which apply to mainstream employers apply to  (a) Remploy and  (b) other sheltered employment agencies;
	(3)  what public procurement rules apply to the awarding of contracts by  (a) Government and  (b) local government departments and agencies on (i) favourable and (ii) protected terms to (A) Remploy and (B) other sheltered employment agencies.

Anne McGuire: The Public Contracts Regulations apply to all procurement exercises for goods and services by Government with a contract value of over 93,738, and to local government exercises with a contract value of over 144,371.
	These Regulations allow contracting authorities to Reserve contracts for supported factories and businesses. This means that only organisations where more than 50 per cent. of the workers are disabled persons, who by reason of disability are unable to take up work in the open labour market, can bid for this work. Any employer or supported employment programme meeting the 50 per cent. disabled employees criteria can bid for reserved contracts.
	There is also a scheme Special Contract Arrangements for contracts below these threshold values. Under this scheme, contracting authorities are allowed to offer back work to supported employers, whose tender is unacceptable on price alone, to give them the opportunity to match the best offer received.

Remploy

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has considered the merits of extending the proposed structure and numbers of Remploy factories beyond the agreed five year funding period.

Anne McGuire: Any consideration of the merits of extending the proposed structure and numbers of Remploy factories beyond the agreed five-year funding period will only be made after the company has presented its modernisation plans.

Social Fund: Motor Vehicles

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has granted any applications for Social Fund money for the purchase of a motor vehicle in the last 12 months.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many successful prosecutions his Department provided evidence for in the last 12 months on cases involving  (a) false representations for claiming benefit and  (b) dishonest representations for claiming benefit.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people were  (a) charged with and  (b) found guilty of benefit fraud in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was lost through benefit fraud in each local authority area in each of the last five years; and how much of that money has subsequently been recovered.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available broken down by local authority area.
	For the available national information on prosecutions, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 23 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1187W, to the hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott); for the available national information on levels of fraud, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 18 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 697-98W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest available rates of combined fraud and error were for each of his Department's administered benefits for the latest year for which information is available.

James Plaskitt: The most recent available information is contained in the DWP report Fraud and Error in the Benefit SystemApril 2005 to March 2006 copies of which are available in the Library.
	The report is also available online at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd2/fem/fem_apr05_mar06.pdf

Social Security Benefits: Personal Records

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that requests submitted by Clydebank Processing Centre for the return of stored case papers or claimants' documents are dealt with promptly by staff at Heywood.

Jim Murphy: Clydebank Benefit Delivery Centre currently retains files on site for nine weeks before dispatch to the Capita Document Management Centre (DMC) or Heywood Stores as they were known. This retention facilitates routine post-action checks, inquiries or other action. Documents/files are requested from DMC using an on-line retrieval with each request being made available for despatch by the TNT Courier by 20:00 on the day of request where the request is received before 17.00 hours or the next working day for requests made after 17.00 hours. Where the request is urgent we can request a response within two hours by fax or e-mail.
	Where files are not received there are two escalation routes, depending on the information held in the on-line retrieval system, either via the TNT Courier help desk or the DMC Customer Service Desk. DMC will endeavour to resolve the issue at contact. However, if this is not possible complaints will be investigated within 24 hours of receipt and the caller given the option of a written reply by fax or e-mail. If the inquiry cannot be resolved within 24 hours, DMC Customer Service Desk provides a progress report via e-mail or fax. If the response is unsatisfactory or is not received within 48 hours, the issue is escalated to the DWP Record Storage Contract Management Team. Scotland also has a nominated manager who represents our sites on matters relating to the JCP process and the DMC service.
	Clydebank is currently receiving a satisfactory standard of service and escalates individual cases where there are difficulties to the Customer Service Desk. Clydebank aims to reduce the holding to six weeks, rather than nine, in line with our agreed best practice in Scotland.

Social Security Benefits: Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 18 to 24 year olds were not in employment, education or training in each quarter since 1992; and what proportion in each quarter were claiming  (a) jobseeker's allowance and  (b) other benefits.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 February 2007
	 Information on the proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training claiming benefits is not available.
	Information on the number and proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds who were not in employment, education or training in the United Kingdom in each quarter since 1992 is in the table.
	
		
			  Date  18-24 not in employment, education or training( 1)  Proportion of 18-24 not in employment, education or training (percentage) 
			 Spring 1992 1,163,000 20.1 
			 Summer 1992 1,306,000 23.5 
			 Autumn 1992 1,173,000 21.3 
			 Winter 1992 1,170,000 21.4 
			 Spring 1993 1,174,000 21.0 
			 Summer 1993 1,261,000 23.5 
			 Autumn 1993 1,130,000 21.3 
			 Winter 1993 1,065,000 20.3 
			 Spring 1994 1,065,000 19.8 
			 Summer 1994 1,244,000 24.2 
			 Autumn 1994 1,028,000 20.2 
			 Winter 1994 993,000 19.1 
			 Spring 1995 958,000 18.6 
			 Summer 1995 1,093,000 21.4 
			 Autumn 1995 982,000 19.4 
			 Winter 1995 897,000 17.9 
			 Spring 1996 860,000 17.3 
			 Summer 1996 956,000 19.5 
			 Autumn 1996 863,000 17.7 
			 Winter 1996 805,000 16.6 
			 Spring 1997 759,000 15.7 
			 Summer 1997 871,000 18.2 
			 Autumn 1997 706,000 14.8 
			 Winter 1997 709,000 14.9 
			 Spring 1998 699,000 14.7 
			 Summer 1998 795,000 16.8 
			 Autumn 1998 710,000 15.0 
			 Winter 1998 705,000 14.8 
			 Spring 1999 667,000 14.0 
			 Summer 1999 781,000 16.3 
			 Autumn 1999 678,000 14.2 
			 Winter 1999 692,000 14.5 
			 Spring 2000 665,000 13.9 
			 Summer 2000 746,000 15.6 
			 Autumn 2000 673,000 14.0 
			 Winter 2000 681,000 14.1 
			 Spring 2001 655,000 13.5 
			 Summer 2001 740,000 15.2 
			 Autumn 2001 708,000 14.5 
			 Winter 2001 701,000 14.3 
			 Spring 2002 685,000 13.9 
			 Summer 2002 787,000 15.9 
			 Autumn 2002 699,000 14.0 
			 Winter 2002 710,000 14.2 
			 Spring 2003 703,000 14.0 
			 Summer 2003 803,000 15.9 
			 Autumn 2003 702,000 13.8 
			 Winter 2003 672,000 13.2 
			 Spring 2004 682,000 13.3 
			 Summer 2004 805,000 15.7 
			 Autumn 2004 749,000 14.6 
			 Winter 2004 736,000 14.3 
			 Spring 2005 752,000 14.6 
			 Summer 2005 831,000 16.0 
			 Autumn 2005 801,000 15.4 
			 Winter 2005 792,000 15.2 
			 Spring 2006 780,000 14.9 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest thousand.  Note: NEET numbers are calculated using the DFES statistical definition. These data are seasonally unadjusted and so any comparisons should be made on a year to year basis.  Source: Labour Force Survey

State Retirement Pensions

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the first payment of a state pension is made from the nearest Monday to a pensioner's qualifying birthday.

James Purnell: Entitlement to a state pension begins on the payday on or following the day on which a person reaches pension age. Historically pensioners had a Thursday payday, but it was changed to a Monday for new claimants in September 1984 to spread the flow of customers using Post Offices more evenly. In some circumstances pensioners can be given a different payday.

Tax Credit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what kind of prior consultation occurred between the Treasury and the Department for Social Security in respect of the 1997 Budget changes to dividend tax credits.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have always been in regular and frequent contact with their counterparts in other Departments on a wide range of issues.

Working Conditions: Temperature

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance or regulations the Health and Safety Executive has made for the maximum and minimum acceptable temperatures in which people can work.

Anne McGuire: The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide a reasonable temperature in all indoor workplaces. These Regulations are accompanied by an Approved Code of Practice and guidance. HSE recommends a lower temperature of 16 degrees Celsius unless the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius.
	The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 also require employers to undertake a risk assessment, which includes assessing the risks of working in very hot or cold workplaces. Where risks are identified, proportionate action must be taken by the employer to meet the legal requirements.
	Further guidance and advice is available on HSE's website covering a wide range of sectors. It also provides a step-by-step approach to help employers and employees manage excessive temperatures in the workplace including guidance on how to avoid heat stress, (http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature).

Workstep

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to extend the Workstep programme beyond April 2008.

Anne McGuire: The current WORKSTEP contracts have already been extended until the end of March 2008. We are currently looking at future contracts, but no decisions have yet been made.

Youth Unemployment

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people aged  (a) 16 to 17 and  (b) 18 to 24 years were (i) economically inactive and not in full-time education and (ii) unemployed in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

Jim Murphy: The available information has been placed in the Library.